KINGSTON, Jamaica— Some 243,000 Jamaicans have been approved for the Government’s Reverse Income Tax Credit.

This financial initiative is designed to assist people earning below $3 million annually, who meet the specific criteria, to receive a one-off $20,000 payment.

Addressing the House of Representatives on a motion for the approval of the first supplementary estimates for fiscal year 2024/25 on Tuesday, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr Nigel Clarke, said the figure represents individuals who have been approved as at Tuesday.

“This has happened electronically, digitally without one [sheet of] paper, without anybody going into an office. It would have been impossible to have 243,000 people sign up for any programme going through an office. It shows the vision of the Government and the transformational potential of the digital revolution,” he said.

Dr Clarke said the Government introduced the reverse income tax credit provision, “as a way of sending [a] signal [to] the vast majority of working people in this country [that] we care about you, we understand your sacrifices, we understand what you go through.

“Here is a Government innovating and doing something that has never been done before to provide income at a time such as this,” he added.

Dr Clarke said the Administration, led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, will continue to implement programmes that benefit the people of Jamaica.

“We have problems and there are challenges. But the Government… is responsive to the challenges, listening to the people, taking the country into the future and responding to their needs, innovating as necessary and doing things that have not been done before,” the minister declared.

The Reverse Income Tax Credit’s implementation was announced by Dr Clarke during his 2024/25 Budget Debate presentation in March.

For further information, individuals may contact (888)TAX-BACK [(888) 829-2225], TaxBack@taj.gov.jm, or visit www.jamaicatax.gov.jm.

-JIS