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Jamaica Government Increases Income Tax Threshold For All PAYE Workers To $1.5 Million

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, emphasises a point, during the opening the 2016/17 Budget Debate in the House on May 12. Seated at his left is Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Dr. Horace Chang. Photo credit: Donald Delahaye/JIS.

Jamaica Government Increases Income Tax Threshold For All PAYE Workers To $1.5 Million

By Latonya Linton
JIS Writer 

KINGSTON, Jamaica May 13 (JIS) — The Jamaica government will increase the income tax threshold for all Pay As You Earn (PAYE) workers from $592,800 to $1.5 million, to be implemented in two phases.

As a result, some 251,000 PAYE workers will benefit from the increased threshold, and, effective July 1, 2016, the first phase of the personal income tax threshold will increase to $1,000,272.

The second phase of the increase will result in a personal income tax threshold of $1.5 million, effective April 1, 2017.

In his presentation, themed “Partnership For Economic Growth”, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, made the announcement, as he opened the 2016/17 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on May 12.

“Right now there are 426,000 persons on the PAYE roll, but 125,000 are off it because they are below $592,800. In making this a threshold for everybody, it’s no longer 118,000 people that will benefit; it will now be 251,000 people. This is 133,000 more persons who will benefit,” the Minister pointed out.

He noted that the cost to the budget for the fiscal year 2016/17 is estimated at $12.5 billion.

The Minister also announced that the income tax rate of 25 per cent will be increased to 30 per cent for persons earning $6 million and more.

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