People’s National Party (PNP) President, Opposition Leader Mark Golding has again defended the party’s plan to increase the income tax threshold to $3.5 million, if it forms the next Government after the General Election.

Responding to a question on the practicality of increasing the income tax threshold, Golding said after 13 years of “belt tightening”, the debt-to-GDP ratio is almost near the target of 60 per cent.

“This year it is expected to actually, with the readjustment of the definition and calculation of GDP, this is the year that we expect to achieve that target [of debt-to-GDP. That will release two-and-a-half to three per cent of GDP of additional resources, which were not previously budgeted for in the fiscal policy paper; that is more than sufficient to pay for our entire programme, including the $3.5 million [income tax] threshold, which will make our civil servants and our middle managers, and indeed, most of our Jamaicans who [are] presently suffering under the high burden of the cost of living have money that they can spend,” he explained.

According to Golding, it is necessary for the government to preserve the country from brain drain and keep the society in tact.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in rebutting Golding’s response, said the “hallowing out of the middle class is an act of the PNP”.

“They (the PNP) decimated the middle class. It is the Jamaica Labour Party that introduced the increase in the non-tax threshold that recreated a middle class in Jamaica,” Holness argued.

“In fact, when you look at the salary profile of PAYE contributors you would see that their salaries have all risen. It is the Jamaica Labour Party, through the compensation review that has increased salaries by over $200 billion for public sector workers. The current proposal [income tax threshold increase] of the PNP is unworkable,” Holness stated.

– Sugar Ray Thomas