KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw has urged Jamaican workers, who have benefited from increased take-home pay with the increase in the personal income tax threshold to $1million, to spend the extra funds “responsibly”.

“I urge the workers to spend their extra money responsibly, taking into account back-to-school and other obligations,” Shaw told the House of Representatives.

He said that this phase of the tax reform was a signal to Jamaicans that the government wants to put back more money into their pockets while expecting, in return, higher levels of personal productivity at the workplace, whether they work in the public or private sectors.

Shaw said that over the past few days, approximately 251,800 working Jamaicans on the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) roster have seen increases in their pay packets, due to the implementation of the tax break.

On July 1, there was an increase in the tax threshold from $592,800 to $1,000,272. The second phase takes effect on April 1, 2017, when the threshold will be increased to $1.5 million.

Shaw said that, as part of the tax reform, the government has begun the shift towards indirect taxes.

He said that the shift towards indirect taxes away from direct taxes, such as personal income tax, is consistent with global trends.

Balford Henry