KINGSTON, Jamaica – People’s National Party (PNP) supporters have described the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) tax package as an ‘All Fools’ Day’ trick.

“Come April I is April Fools’ Day, a trick dem a trick people” said one supporter. “A style Andrew a style Jamaicans.”

According to him, the tax package is a bad plan and if implemented will cause wide scale job cuts.

“At the end of the day everybody ago out of a job,” he said. 

He was supported by another supporter who expressed that, “If a person [employer] has 50 people 10 ago lef when dem bruk it down, and crime and violence ago increase”.

Meanwhile, a third supporter said “a lot of Jamaicans will be in for a surprise if the tax plan comes into effect”.

“All a de people dem weh sit down and a wait if you ain’t getting $1.5 million you ain’t getting $18,000 so a trick,” she said.

During its election campaign, the JLP administration promised that effective April 1, it would remove income tax obligations for people earning $1.5 million or less.

The party estimated that the government would lose $12.5 billion if the plan was implemented.

However, after being sworn in as Minister of Finance and Public Service, Audley Shaw said that following a review, there was a positive deviation from the original estimate. After recalculation, he said, loss would be in the region of $11 billion.

Tanesha Mundle