JLP Vows to Lower Income Tax Rate to 15%
The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has outlined plans to gradually cut the personal income tax rate to 15 per cent if it remains in government.
Details of the proposal are set out in the organisation’s newly released 110-page manifesto, i Choose Jamaica, The Next Chapter.
According to the document, the intention is to build on the earlier $1.5 million threshold increase and move step by step toward a long-term base rate of 15 per cent.
Currently, taxable earnings in Jamaica attract a personal income tax rate of 25 per cent, while income above $6 million is charged at 30 per cent.
The party emphasised that the aim is to ease the weight of direct taxation and lean more heavily on indirect methods, thereby giving workers the chance to retain a larger portion of their salaries.
By broadening the tax net, the JLP argued that fairness and equity would be promoted, ensuring that contributions to national development are more evenly shared.
A phased increase in the tax threshold was announced earlier this year, beginning April 1, with a three-step rise to $2 million.
Finance Minister Fayval Williams had explained that the first increase would bring it to $1.8 million, followed by $1.9 million, before settling at $2 million.
Income at or below the set threshold remains untaxed.
The upward adjustments build on the significant change in 2017, when the threshold jumped to $1.5 million in fulfilment of a 2016 election promise.
Plans to ease the asset tax burden on regulated financial institutions are also included, with the goal of eventual elimination once fiscal conditions allow.
In addition, the JLP manifesto revealed an intention to merge the existing four statutory deductions—Education Tax, HEART, NIS and NHT—into a single combined levy, aiming to simplify payroll for both employers and workers while also cutting reporting demands on businesses.
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