CUSTOMS brokers have criticised plans by government to hike their annual licensing fee by as high as 60 per cent.

“Some customs brokers will have to close their businesses, because things were tough already,” said Hendrickson Porter, president of the Customs Brokers Association of Jamaica.

Last week finance minister, Dr Omar Davies announced a raft of new and increased fees payable to the Customs Department as part of measures to raise revenue to finance the $210-billion budget for 2002/2003.

The annual licensing fee for corporate brokerage entities moves up from $6,000 to $15,000 and to $10,000 for individuals. In addition, an annual licensing fee of $25,000 is to be charged for the operation of a private bonded warehouse and $50,000 for the operation of a public bonded warehouse.

Davies argued that the charges were necessary to offset expenses Customs incurred in facilitating brokers to use the new computerised import processing system.

But Porter said the “taxman” has singled out brokers for “special treatment”.

“Since the custom broker must provide a tax compliance certificate in order to renew his licence, I can understand if government is going to get other people to join with us,” added Porter.

He complained that the increased licensing fee along with the pre-requirement to remit statutory deductions would be a burden to his membership.

He also argued that the increased charges were not being used to improve the facilities for persons doing business at Customs House.

Said Porter: “The infrastructure at Customs House is so poor. They should not be allowing us to go there to do business. We have to be packed up there like we are in a minibus. It is a minibus operation at Customs House.”

According to Davies, the tax net is being stretched to include other groups of professionals and, accordingly, he has proposed that “a valid tax compliance certificate” be a “pre-requisite for obtaining the various licences and professional certification.”

Meanwhile, Hyacinth Bennett, president of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) forecasted that the country was in for “another year of extreme difficulties and hopelessness” due, she said, to increased taxation, increasing debt and increasing imports.

The situation is made worse, she charged, by decreased job opportunities in the face of “wanton waste and barefaced corruption.”