GCT reduction misguided

THE EDITOR, Madam:

THE ANNOUNCEMENT by the honourable minister of finance that general consumption tax (GCT) will be reduced from 16.5 per cent to 15 per cent on April 1 has been hailed by many as a brilliant political ploy.

I will not join the cheerleaders, as any careful cost/benefit analysis of this measure could not justify this move.

Reducing GCT by 1.5 per cent translates to a reduction in price from $116.50 to $115 on a taxable item.

It means a reduction in prices of less than 1 per cent on taxable items and no reduction in price of essential items, which are tax-free.

The reduction will not allow me to add a single item to my shopping cart.

The benefits to be derived cannot justify the cost of the reduction. By the minister’s estimates, the country will lose $11 billion in revenue.

I am happy to know that the country enjoys an $11-billion surplus on tax collections, and can afford to give up this revenue.

However, I do not understand how the Government can justify using these funds to reduce my supermarket bill by less than 1 per cent when critically ill Jamaicans are sleeping on the floors of emergency rooms and our lockups are severely overcrowded.

In the stores where the average Jamaican shops, GCT is calculated in the final price and prices are rounded to the nearest $5. There will be no reduction at all in these stores.

With the certainty that the coronavirus will put increased pressure on an already overburdened healthcare system, it is my considered opinion that these funds could be better utilised in improving the facilities that 99 per cent of us will have to use at some point in time.

Healthcare is not the only area where we are failing to deliver an acceptable level of service to our citizens. The conditions in our jails are atrocious.

While the overwhelming majority of those in custody are poor, illiterate Jamaicans, it is shortsighted of us to ignore their plight. Maybe if we treat them like decent human beings, they will act accordingly. If we don’t, they are almost certain to continue to be a menace to society, when reintegrated into their communities.

Sometimes, the same knife weh stick goat, stick sheep. Let’s prepare accordingly.

Thanks for the offer, Minister, but I won’t even notice it. Spend the money where it counts.