10 Tax Questions

1. How was the amount of  “additional revenue” to cover the fiscal deficit calculated?
   
   
2. If the government’s initial proposal was $22B and the revised package only amounts to $21.812B, then where is the difference to come from?
   
3. This sum: $22.812B is “additional revenue”, what is the grand total so far?
   
   
4. Was this sum a pre-condition stipulated by the INF, to be satisfied before any agreement is signed with the Government of Jamaica?
   
   
5. What are the consequences if the proposed tax package fails to meet the various collection targets being projected?
   
   
6. Over what period of time must this additional sum be realized?
   
   
7. Has the fact that the Government failed in its efforts to raise funding on the local market(necessitating the BOJ providing temporary support) influenced the nature and timing of the new tax measures?
   
   
8. Given the prolonged severe financial burden of Air Jamaica and the immense difficulty in having it divested, does it make any economic sense whatsoever in continuing its operation for even one more day?
   
   
9. What factors justified the government’s decision to impose a 2-year wage freeze on its workers, but no corresponding freeze on government imposed charges:levies, duties, imposts, taxes, and user fees?
   
   
10. Are Jamaicans to expect any more tax packages before the end of the financial year-April 2010?