Tourism tax talks continue today

Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:



A technical working group is to hold another round of talks today to fine tune proposals by tourism players, as they put forward alternatives to the government’s recently announced taxes on the sector.



Technical teams from the Ministries of Tourism and Finance met with tourism interests yesterday, to discuss the proposals which were arrived at a meeting of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) yesterday.



The JHTA has proposed changes to transfer and commissions and the tax on alcohol, departure and hotel rooms.



Earlier, it had signalled a preference for an increase in the departure tax and a reversal of the corporate income tax rate from the announced 25 per cent to 33 per cent.



The JHTA had also proposed the imposition of an environmental tax on cruise ship passengers and an idle assets tax.



Following yesterday’s talks, the JHTA and the government technocrats agreed that another meeting would be held today where the proposals can be refined.



A final document is expected to be forwarded to the tourism minister, who will then meet and discuss the report with the finance minister.



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