The Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) plan to reduce the base rate of personal income tax from 25 per cent to 15 per cent on a phased basis, should it be re-elected to office, will give “a huge tax break” to the rich, says People’s National Party (PNP) President Mark Golding.

Golding was responding for the first time to the JLP’s proposal contained in its manifesto dubbed ‘iChoose Jamaica, The Next Chapter’, which was released on Sunday night at the JLP’s mass rally in Montego Bay, St James.

Commenting on the proposal in the JLP’s manifesto, Prime Minister Andrew Holness told the crowd of jubilant Labourites that his party delivered $1.5 million income tax threshold when the PNP said it couldn’t be done.

“We have raised it to $1.7 million. We will increase it to $2 million over the next two years so that your take home pay continues to rise,” Holness said.

“Over time, we (the JLP) will reduce the base rate of personal income tax from 25 [per cent] to 15 per cent on a phased basis and shift gradually from direct to indirect taxation which will allow hardworking Jamaicans to keep more of their paycheck,” the prime minister announced.

The PNP has since announced its own income tax plan, pledging that earnings up to $3.5 million will be tax-free.

“Our proposal is equitable and ensures that those who need it most are the ones who get the benefit,” said Golding at the launch of the PNP’s ‘Manifesto Lite’ on Monday.

In contrast, Golding claimed that the JLP’s income tax plan was not equitable.

“If you reduce the income tax rate from 25 to 15 (per cent), it means that someone who is earning $30 to $40 million of income and who is paying $10 million of tax[es] is going to end up paying $4 million less tax that the people of Jamaica need to fund programmes to support the society,” the Opposition leader suggested.

“Our proposal, which is to increase the threshold, means that the people who need it most [will benefit]. Everyone will benefit who pays income tax now, including the man earning $30 [to] $40 million.

“But his benefit or her benefit will be no greater than [what] the teacher [is getting], than the benefit that the police officer [is getting], the benefit that the nurse is getting, which is a 100 per cent relief on their first $3.5 million of income, and this is why it is a more progressive, just, and fair solution than what they are offering, where ministers of government, prime ministers and others will get a huge tax break by their policy and their proposal which our proposal will not do,” Golding explained.

Meanwhile, PNP General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell said if someone is making an income of $3.5 million, their increase in take home pay will be more than $35,000 per month.

“Now you would actually be able to buy a proper vehicle and not the $2,000 for a [Toyota] Probox [motor car],” he quipped.