Recently appointed Government Senator Delano Seiveright has criticised the taxation stance of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP), accusing its leadership of prioritising tax hikes over innovative economic policies. `

Speaking with the Jamaica Observer after addressing members of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and its youth affiliate, Young Jamaica, at the Godfrey Stewart High School in Westmoreland on Sunday, Seiveright argued that the PNP’s inclination toward taxation as a policy tool would harm the Jamaican people rather than provide tangible benefits.

He charged that recent statements by Opposition spokespersons Damion Crawford and Dayton Campbell are clear evidence of the PNP’s taxation-driven agenda.

“In June 2024, Damion Crawford, speaking at a Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools conference — not at a rum bar, not at Dream Weekend, not at Sandz, a body of our education sector’s most senior leadership — suggested that a one-percentage-point increase in GCT would generate $25 billion in revenue. The PNP tried to downplay it, calling it an ‘exploration of ideas’.

“But in January 2025 Opposition Spokesperson for Agriculture, Dayton Campbell, who is also the [PNP] general secretary, heading up the nerve centre of the party, confidently declared that he would impose a tax on imported agricultural produce to create an Agricultural Development Fund,” Seiveright noted.

Opposition Leader and PNP President, Mark Golding, following public criticism noted that there is no plan for any new tax by a new PNP Administration.

According to Seiveright, the contradiction in the PNP’s leadership, exposes either dishonesty, gross incompetence, or severe policy incoherence.

“If your top-ranking officials, the very people who would form a Cabinet, are talking openly about implementing new taxes, then it’s clear where their priorities lie. If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, it probably is a duck,” he remarked.

Seiveright reminded his audience that since Prime Minister Andrew Holness took office in 2016, Jamaica has had a record of no new taxes.

He argued that this was thanks to sound economic policies and prudent fiscal management of the Holness Administration.

“The PNP’s obsession with taxation is not just misguided, it’s dangerous. It’s the same old strategy of burdening hardworking Jamaicans instead of fostering growth and investment,” said Seiveright.

He pointed to what he said are some of the achievements made under Holness, which he said includes a historic low unemployment rate of 3.5 per cent, a projected debt-to-GDP ratio below 70 per cent for the first time since the 1970s, and rapidly falling murder rates.

“These achievements are undeniable,” declared Seiveright as he told JLP supporters that, “the rising cost of living and other social and economic pressures can create a sense of despair despite the clear progress we have made. It is an issue we see among the populace in the USA, Canada and the UK too. It is our duty to address these concerns with empathy, urgency, and innovative solutions”.

According to Seiveright, the prime minister has outlined a comprehensive strategy aimed at transitioning Jamaica towards robust and inclusive economic growth.

He urged JLP supporters to remain vigilant and continue advocating for policies that benefit all Jamaicans.

“We must reject the samfie business coming from the PNP and support a Government that has consistently delivered economic progress without new taxes,” said Seiveright.