THE Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) is urging the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service to move from commitment to action on the proposed increase in General Consumption Tax (GCT) on tourism activities, noting that a technical review agreed more than a month ago has still not begun.

In a media release on Wednesday, the JHTA said during a meeting with Minister of Finance Fayval Williams on September 23, the parties agreed to establish a technical working group bringing together finance representatives from JHTA member properties, PwC, Ministry of Finance, Tax Authority of Jamaica (TAJ) and Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ).

According to the JHTA, the group was to meet virtually every fortnight from the week of October 12 and hold at least two sessions before a wider joint working group reconvened in November.

The JHTA said it submitted its nominees as requested but to date, no meeting has been convened.

“We have been patient, and we have been constructive, but with each week that passes, the window to properly assess this measure narrows. The industry has done what was asked of it. We now look to the ministry to do the same,” aid JHTA President O’Brian Heron in the media release.

He added that the JHTA’s concern goes beyond process.

“This is about the livelihoods of the many thousands of Jamaicans who earn their living from tourism, directly and indirectly. A five-percentage-point increase on a sector still recovering from Hurricane Melissa is not a minor adjustment. Its effects will be felt in employment, in investment and in communities far beyond the resort areas. A decision with consequences of that scale must rest on evidence, and that evidence has not yet been examined,” declared Heron.

The Government proposes to raise GCT on tourism activities from 10 per cent to the standard 15 per cent from April 2027 — a measure Williams deferred to the next fiscal year in recognition of the sector’s ongoing recovery from Hurricane Melissa.

The JHTA has repeatedly argued that many operators in the tourism sector are already locked into contracts that run into 2027 and beyond, limiting their ability to absorb or pass on the additional cost without eroding Jamaica’s competitiveness against other destinations.

WILLIAMS… tourism is one of the pillars of our economy, and I have great respect for the industry and the many Jamaicans whose livelihoods depend on it.

To ensure the national discussion is informed by independent analysis, JHTA has funded an impact assessment by PwC.

“We respect the minister’s responsibility to manage the public finances, and we have never asked the Government to ignore its fiscal realities,” Heron said.

“What we have asked is that the full cost of this measure to jobs and to the wider economy be understood before it is imposed. Respectfully, we are not convinced that understanding is yet in place — and the review that would provide it has not started,” Heron added.

He said the JHTA is calling on the finance ministry to convene the technical working group immediately and to publish a firm schedule of meetings ahead of the wider group’s November review.

“The association maintains that alternatives exist that can meet the Government’s revenue objectives by broadening the base rather than raising the rate,” declared Heron.

Up to press time, there was no response from the finance ministry to the JHTA’s latest statement but following an earlier meeting with representatives of the association, Williams had declared her commitment to discussions with the hoteliers.

“As we balance the range of considerations involved in meeting our fiscal responsibilities, I am committed to keeping the channels of dialogue with the industry fully open,” Williams said then.

“Tourism is one of the pillars of our economy, and I have great respect for the industry and the many Jamaicans whose livelihoods depend on it,” the finance minister added.