Jamaica Extends Tax Break for Hotels through September

Jamaican hoteliers caught a welcome tax reprieve this week when the Jamaican government extended its tourism stimulus package through September.

Under the stimulus package, the hospitality sector’s general consumption tax (tax on goods and services) was cut in half.

The package, which was in force from January through June, cut the general consumption tax from 8.25 percent to 4.12 percent, enabling those businesses to keep $7.1 million in to sustain jobs and maintain growth, according to Jamaica Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett.

Although the move was welcomed by Wayne Cummings, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, he proposed that the tax cut apply through mid-December.

Cummings said that the fall season, which begins when the September extension ends, is traditionally a slow period for tourism.

Keeping the extension in place through the fall “will be necessary if the hospitality sector is to maintain employment rates and keep market incentives in place,” according to Cummings.