KINGSTON, Jamaica— Opposition leader Mark Golding is pressing the government to disclose its strategy for funding the proposed increase to the $1.5 million tax threshold, as announced by the Prime Minister during a spot meeting in Clarks Town, Trelawny last weekend.

Speaking with reporters earlier this week, Golding emphasised the need for transparency regarding the government’s financing plans. He noted that while the People’s National Party (PNP) has its own proposal to finance a $3 million income tax threshold, it’s imperative for the government to outline its strategy.

“We have our own plans as to how we would finance this, but the government is in power and they need to say how they are going to finance it because the important point to bear in mind is that the way they did it the last time was through an increase in indirect taxes which fell on the backs of the people,” Golding said.

Golding highlighted the adverse effects of the previous financing strategy, including a dramatic increase in poverty levels and growing income inequality.

“So they shifted the burden from those who got the benefit to those who are not in a taxable position from an income tax point of view and poverty responded by going up quite dramatically in 2019 before COVID, from 11 to over 16 per cent and the inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient, also increased,” he continued.

“We need to hear from the government the parameters of how they propose to finance this, how they are going to fund it, when they plan to roll it out, and to what extent they are planning in terms of an increase,” Golding demanded.