Jamaica News Bulletin

Jamaican shopkeepers are slow to adopt energy efficiency measures, citing cost and lack of financial incentives as the main barriers, according to a new study.

The College of Estate Management, a self-funded charity and the leading international provider of supported distance learning for real estate and construction professionals, conducted the research which suggests that there is considerable scope for Jamaican Government-funded support for energy efficiency.

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Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) is moving to intensify compliance action against delinquent taxpayers for various breaches. As part of this strategy TAJ has published the names of over 300 delinquent companies, self-employed persons and partnerships, who were taken before the courts during January and February 2013 for failure to file returns and or for outstanding payments.

The breaches published relate to cases for non-filing and arrears for General Consumption Tax, PAYE, Education Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Personal Income Tax, Property Tax and Trade License and reflects amounts due by taxpayers totaling $4B, across the island’s Revenue Service Centres (RSC’s) and smaller tax offices, along with the Large Taxpayer Office (LTO), as outlined in the table below:

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In the corporate world, it is said that bigger is often better.  Over the years, mergers have over the years have been associated with one stigma or the other.  Whether it is a strategic decision to stay afloat or just two companies desiring to create dynamic synergies, some will be successful and other times others will not.  Many testify that the key to merging successfully boils down to how well companies are able to plan ahead for impending storms, how good the strategy is and how well a firm deals with unforeseen challenges.

Jamaica has seen its share of mergers and interestingly so, the financial sector has seen the most mergers in Jamaica in recent years with Scotia DBG, CIBC First Caribbean International Bank and now First Heritage Co-operative Credit Union.  Rarely do you find a report about how post-merger performance has been.  It was for this reason that we recently sat down with CEO of First Heritage Co-operative Credit Union, Basil Naar, to assess FHC’s post-merger performance.

Taxpayers have just two weeks to file their Income Tax Returns before the March 15 deadline. Tax Administration Jamaica is therefore reminding all companies, self-employed persons, partners, other bodies and employed persons with additional sources of income to file their Annual Income Tax Return for 2012 and to declare their estimated income for 2013 on or before the March 15 due date.

Persons are encouraged to submit their returns before the March 15 due date to avoid the usual last minute rush at Tax Offices. As a convenient option, they may register to file and pay online from their office or home, via the Jamaica Tax Portal at www.jamaicatax-online.gov.jm, using a credit card.

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