Eight-storey tax office tower to be constructed in Cross Roads
An eight-storey building is to be constructed on lands where the Nuttal Hospital is located in Cross Roads to house a state-of-the-art tax office.
The cost of construction is $2.3 billion and is part of the $11 billion Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) has budgeted to spend by 2027 to build, modernise and upgrade tax offices islandwide.
This was revealed on Tuesday by Finance and Public Service Minister Dr Nigel Clarke as he opened the 2024/25 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives.
“The Cross Roads Tax Office is out of space. Sometimes the lines extend outside the building, onto the sidewalk, and bend around the building. This is not acceptable,” said Clarke.
He said the new building will house a full-service tax office and business centre, with underground and surface parking, large enough and spacious enough to accommodate the tax-paying public.
TAJ is presently constructing a tax office in Christiana, Manchester at a cost of $760 million.
“This brand new tax office building is 52 per cent completed and should be 100 per cent completed in the upcoming fiscal year,” Clarke shared.
And $953 million is to be spent to construct a tax office in Mandeville, Manchester. The TAJ has reportedly leased the property, and designs have been completed. The initial procurement failed and the project is being re-tendered.
“With successful procurement the second time around, construction should start in the upcoming fiscal year,” said Clarke.
The Montego Bay Revenue Centre is to be constructed at a cost of $2.4 billion, the Brown’s Town Tax Office in St Ann is estimated to cost $930 million while the Santa Cruz facility in St Elizabeth is estimated at $920 million.
Meanwhile, the Annotto Bay Tax Office in St Mary is slated to undergo renovation and refurbishment in the upcoming fiscal year and the contractor is currently being procured. The TAJ is building a brand new tax office in Portmore, St Catherine, the project is expected to cost $1.9 billion.
In order to improve the offerings at the Kingston Revenue Service Centre, TAJ acquired the BNS building on King Street in downtown Kingston. Designs have reportedly been approved and TAJ is now in the process of engaging a contractor to renovate, upgrade and modernise the building.
“I expect construction to begin in the upcoming fiscal year and the total all-in costs to be approximately J$900 million,” said Clarke.
