A joint committee formed by the Ministry of Finance and Planning to review the problems flowing from the proposals to increase the income tax threshold to $275,000 will meet again at the Ministry next week Tuesday.

Sources told the Observer that at an initial meeting on Tuesday, the committee failed to agree on the terms of reference proposed by the ministry.

The committee is chaired by the Minister of State Fitz Jackson, and includes representatives of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), the Jamaica Employers Federation, the Private sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce.

Jackson, who brought the terms of reference to Tuesday’s meeting, came under fire from a number of the members who were not prepared for some of those terms, including provisions for them to look at a rationalisation of the current income tax structure, our sources said.

Committee members are hoping that these differences can be ironed out next week, so that the deliberations can be concluded in time for an announcement on the implementation date for the new threshold prior to the next budget.

Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Omar Davies had promised in his 2005/2006 opening budget speech that the threshold would be lifted from the current $193,44 to $275,000 as of January 1, 2007. However, this has been delayed and the ministry has attributed the delay to its inability to complete the documentation in time.

The increase in the treshold is expected to result in several currently non-taxed allowances paid to workers being made taxable in order to make the change revenue neutral.