TOBACCO distributor Carreras Limited has clarified information it presented to the Human Resources and Social Development Committee of Parliament two weeks ago regarding its real contribution to the National Health Fund (NHF).

The company, during that meeting, is on record as saying it contributes four per cent in taxes to the national budget annually and provides 75 per cent of the total budget of the National Health Fund which provides medicine for a range of chronic lifestyle diseases for close to 500,000 Jamaicans.

But Tuesday, Government committee member Dr Dayton Campbell, drawing the attention of the committee to the data, said this was not so.

“They stated that they contributed some $11 billion in taxes and some 75 per cent of the National Health Fund’s budget. But checks have revealed that that (75 per cent contribution) is not correct. That has been all over the media to the point where even the president of the Medical Association of Jamaica was asking recently the impact on the NHF if they contributed so significantly,” Dr Campbell said.

He said based on checks in 2010, Carreras contributed 32.1 per cent to the fund, 32.8 per cent in 2011 and 23.8 per cent in 2012, “which is a far cry from 75 per cent”.

“They made the bold statement that they contributed four per cent of the national budget annually and some 75 per cent of the National Health Fund, which is an inaccurate statement and something we need to correct. The data have shown, and I checked it more than once, it’s only 23.8 per cent that they contributed last year. It’s amazing to me how such misleading information can be presented,” Dr Campbell stated.

Speaking with the Jamaica Observer yesterday, corporate affairs manager for the firm, Chris Brown, explained the figures.

“We contribute more than 75 per cent of the Special Consumption Tax that comprises the revenue of the National Health Fund,” Brown said, adding that the fund’s revenues are derived from three sources — tobacco taxation, a special consumption tax, and taxes from the gaming industry.

“Taking the two categories together, in terms of the special taxes we contribute 75 per cent of the special tax component of the revenues. As it relates to the overall revenue of the health fund, however, we contribute close to 50 per cent. The four per cent of the consolidated fund is not in question,” he told the Observer.

In the meantime, committee chairman Rudyard Spencer had said the body would write to Carreras regarding the information in order to have an official response from the group on the Parliament’s record.

“If that is so, knowing the group, that they are very good corporate citizens and how they operate, it could be a printing error or a genuine error. I think we should point it out and ask them to clarify,” Opposition committee member Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert said.

“It may be a very big oversight. This has been circulated for a while. It is an indictment on us as a committee here; we should really have examined it. We need to get some clarity to ensure that what they are saying is correct,” Government committee member Denese Daley added.

Said Spencer: “Insofar as this is concerned, we would want to give them the benefit of the doubt and we will write to them.”

Government member Hugh Buchanan, however, saw the supposed error from a different angle.

“I am particularly pleased to know that the NHF are not actually receiving 75 per cent of their budget from them, which is not a bad thing to know that it is under 35 per cent,” he noted, adding that it would not be so much of a burden to replace that amount if it becomes necessary.

Carreras, during that appearance, had appealed to the sessional select committee, which is now considering the Public Health (Tobacco Control) Regulations 2013, to

relax some of the measures

it has described as “excessively draconian” and “unbalanced” in their

present form.