KINGSTON, Jamaica — Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) today disclosed that it has exceeded its collections target for August

In a news release today, TAJ said preliminary figures for that month indicate that the revenue authority collected $19.6 billion – a 2.3 per cent over the $19.2 billion target. 

“This performance continues the trend which was set in the first quarter of this financial year as collections for the period April to June, when averaged, stood at 108.5 per cent of the $61.9 billion target,” TAJ said. 

“The July 2016 collections continued the upward movement as $19.3 billion or 100.2 per cent of the $191.1 billion target was met. As a result, the year to date net collections now stands at $106.4 billion (6.3 per cent) of the $100.2 billion projected for the period,” added the release.

According to TAJ, this positive outcome is a result of the continuation of focused compliance strategies.

“These efforts included closer monitoring of arrears which was facilitated through the implementation of the Revenue Administration Information System (RAiS); the mandating of several categories of taxpayers to file online and the introduction and application of a system generated penalty of $5,000 per month per return for late filing,” TAJ said.   

Additionally, the revenue authority said it continues to ramp up its enforcement activities. 

It stated that a recent operation with the Major Organized Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) in sections of Clarendon to recover outstanding taxes from tax evaders, resulted in 17 taxpayers making full payments on spot, while several others paid down significant amounts with arrangements to settle the outstanding sums shortly.