US May Soon Impose Tax on Remittances to Jamaica, Other Countries in the Region
The United States may soon impose a tax on remittances to Jamaica.
This, following the introduction of the ‘Border Wall Funding Bill’.
The bill, which was introduced by Mike Rogers, a republic congressman from the US state of Alabama seeks to amend the Electronic Fund Transfer Act by requiring a charge of two per cent on the US-dollar value of any currency being sent to 43 other countries (including Jamaica) across Latin America and the Caribbean.
The objective of the bill is to assist with the funding of a wall along the southern border of the United States to help stem the flow of illegal immigrants.
President Trump, while campaigning for the US presidency frequently promised to build a wall to stop illegal immigrants, however since his election, there has been widespread disagreement regarding how it will be funded.
Persons who attempt to circumvent the bill’s 2 percent remittance fee could face up to 20 years in prison and a half-a-million US dollar fine, or twice the value of the funds involved, whichever is greater.
Remittances represent Jamaica’s second-largest earner of foreign exchange, second only to tourism.
Jamaica received US$2 billion in remittances from the US last year.
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