Hoteliers propose room tax alternatives

The Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) has ended its meeting in Montego Bay, St James with several alternative proposals to the controversial room tax.



It’s understood that among the proposals in an increase in the departure tax; a reversal of the corporate income tax rate from the announced 25 per cent to 33 per cent; the imposition of an environmental tax on cruise ship passengers and an idle assets tax.



The idle assets tax would apply to non-operational hotels which have closed for long periods of time, bringing no revenue to the government.



The government has projected to raise J$2.5 billion annually.



The JHTA is slated to meet with Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Dr Wykeham McNeill in Kingston tomorrow.



"Given the concerns raised by the JHTA, I have arranged for discussions with the technical teams from the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment and the Ministry of Finance and Planning, and representatives of the JHTA who will put forward the findings," McNeill said in a release this morning.



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