Pearnel Charles says that a government led by him would give the private sector adequate tax breaks to help drive production and profits as part of a wider aim of reducing poverty and unemployment.

Charles, who has declared his intention to seek the leadership of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) when the current leader, Edward Seaga, steps aside in November, articulated his proposal to one set of business persons last week and is scheduled to further share his vision with other members of the private sector in meetings this week.

“The private sector must be allowed to run the economy and make profit,” Charles told the Observer at the weekend. “The Government must inspire that by removing the massive taxation that hamstrings the sector.”

Charles declined to give specifics of his proposal, saying that details would be made known to an advisory committee on business he would set up to make recommendations of what businesses required. That committee, he said, would be made up of local business people.

He made it clear that he was not advocating an abolition of taxes. However, he was adamant that the tariffs now being paid were too high, thereby prevented businesses from making profits and limited their capacity to create more jobs.

“Any taxes now standing in the private sector’s way, the Government must realise that they are penny wise and pound foolish,” Charles said. “If businesses can employ more persons, that means more taxes from income for the Government.”

He said the Government needed to revise the taxation system to ease the burden on businesses and vowed that he would commit himself to removing all the barriers that prevent the realisation of profit.

According to Charles, once this is achieved, the island would see a reduction in poverty and the administration would have more funding to improve educational opportunities for Jamaicans.