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The National Association of Parish Development Committees (NAPDEC) has launched a scathing attack on the Private Sector Working Group's (PSWG) tax-reform proposals.
During a press conference in May Pen, Clarendon, the NAPDEC called for the Government to "totally disregard the nonsensical, self-serving and faulty tax proposals" being enunciated by the working group.
NAPDEC Secretary Joseph Cox described the PSWG's tax-reform proposals as a recipe for disaster that would, if adopted by the Government in its entirety, immediately plunge Jamaica's economy into a deep recession, with unemployment increasing astronomically and a significant escalation of the human misery, especially among the poor.
"The policy framework enunciated by the PSWG would derail the economic growth agenda of the Government by engaging in one of the most repressive tax regimes on the pay-as-you-earn group, the self-employed and micro and small business operators," argued Cox, the managing partner at the Centre for Growth and Development.
Poor could be hard hit
He also said he believed the unemployed, the elderly and the working poor would be hit hard.
On Tuesday, the PSWG announced proposals, including the reduction of the general consumption tax (GCT) rate from 17.5 per cent to 12.5 per cent, while imposing GCT on basic food items (medical drugs would remain exempt), aimed to gain $7.6 billion for the Government.
The working group also proposed the slashing, by more than half, of corporate income tax from 33 per cent to 15 per cent, which would cost the Government $5.5 billion in lost revenues.
Cox, an economist, said the Government's major objective was to alleviate hardships and not to create additional hardship, especially on the already burdened poor.
He said that for Jamaica to return to a path of sustainable growth, emphasis must be placed on strategies that would induce economic growth and job development.
Cox argued that the path to recovery lies in upgraded skills, increased exports and public investment in infrastructure and low carbon energy, all within a context whereby effective disposable incomes are expanding.
During a press conference in May Pen, Clarendon, the NAPDEC called for the Government to "totally disregard the nonsensical, self-serving and faulty tax proposals" being enunciated by the working group.
NAPDEC Secretary Joseph Cox described the PSWG's tax-reform proposals as a recipe for disaster that would, if adopted by the Government in its entirety, immediately plunge Jamaica's economy into a deep recession, with unemployment increasing astronomically and a significant escalation of the human misery, especially among the poor.
"The policy framework enunciated by the PSWG would derail the economic growth agenda of the Government by engaging in one of the most repressive tax regimes on the pay-as-you-earn group, the self-employed and micro and small business operators," argued Cox, the managing partner at the Centre for Growth and Development.
Poor could be hard hit
He also said he believed the unemployed, the elderly and the working poor would be hit hard.
On Tuesday, the PSWG announced proposals, including the reduction of the general consumption tax (GCT) rate from 17.5 per cent to 12.5 per cent, while imposing GCT on basic food items (medical drugs would remain exempt), aimed to gain $7.6 billion for the Government.
The working group also proposed the slashing, by more than half, of corporate income tax from 33 per cent to 15 per cent, which would cost the Government $5.5 billion in lost revenues.
Cox, an economist, said the Government's major objective was to alleviate hardships and not to create additional hardship, especially on the already burdened poor.
He said that for Jamaica to return to a path of sustainable growth, emphasis must be placed on strategies that would induce economic growth and job development.
Cox argued that the path to recovery lies in upgraded skills, increased exports and public investment in infrastructure and low carbon energy, all within a context whereby effective disposable incomes are expanding.