Government Senator Abka Fitz-Henley says there is a fundamental and demonstrable difference between the country’s two major political parties concerning the issue of taxation.

Senator Fitz-Henley made the charge during a meeting held on Sunday at the Holy Family Primary to launch a chapter of Young Jamaica, the Jamaica Labour Party’s youth arm, in central Kingston.

The Government senator, who is also parliamentary secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, blasted the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) for what he argued is the party’s track record of imposing taxation burdens on the Jamaican people and posited that a Mark Golding-led administration would do the same.

“We should not forget that the PNP imposed $30 billion of new taxes on the Jamaican people during their last term. Dem tax patty, dem tax hand-cart vendor and they even tried to impose a tax on our savings account. Imagine that?” Fitz-Henley said.

Senator Fitz-Henley then took aim at recent utterances by Opposition spokesmen on agriculture and education, Dayton Campbell and Damion Crawford, respectively, who mentioned the possibility of new taxes.

Crawford last year suggested a one per cent increase in General Consumption Tax (GCT) to fund the education budget, while Campbell suggested that a tax be placed on food imports.

The PNP later backtracked and move to distance itself from the suggestion of the two spokesmen.

“I hear two of their spokesmen suggesting an increase in taxes. It is clear the PNP has not changed their philosophy. An increase in GCT will burden the poor and it does not take a rocket scientist to know that a food import tax will result in rising prices in Jamaica. We cannot allow dem to come back into power and impose more burdens on the Jamaican people,” Fitz-Henley said.

The Government senator pointed to the Holness-administration’s move away from direct taxation as evidence of what he reasoned is a fundamental difference between the governing Jamaica Labour Party and the PNP on the issue.

“There is no doubt a major difference. Their actions and their words suggest they believe in taxes, taxes, taxes and do not recognise the inflationary impact it will have on the economy and the lives of our beloved Jamaican people,” Fitz-Henley noted.

“On the other hand, we in the Jamaica Labour Party have gone approximately 10 consecutive years of no new taxes. In the process, we cut income tax twice and we cut GCT from 16.5 to 15 per cent because we understand that in so doing we improve lives and also by increasing people’s purchasing power we give our market economy a greater opportunity to expand,” Fitz-Henley said.