ISP Working Paper Number 04-32

Taxing Consumption in Jamaica: The GCT and the SCT

Kelly D. Edmiston and Richard M. Bird, December 2004

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Abstract:

The GCT and SCT are critically important revenue sources in Jamaica, accounting for 37.4 percent of total revenues in fiscal year 2003/04 (27.7 percent for GCT alone) and an estimated 11.2 percent of GDP (8.3 percent for GCT alone). In this paper we set out in some detail the present structure and administration of the GCT and SCT and evaluate the performance of these taxes from several angles - as revenue generators, with respect to their distributional effects, and in an international comparison. We end with recommendations for reform.