Going for Growth - Opportunities Abound

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4 GOING FOR GROWTH FEATURE | THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015
DIRECTOR GENERAL of
Tax Administration Jamaica
(TAJ), Ainsley Powell, is
satisfied that the country is going
in the right direction but not yet
satisfied that it is easy enough for
Jamaicans to pay their taxes.
“Not to the degree that I would
have loved,” said Powell in
response to the question if it is now
easier for Jamaicans to pay takes.
According to Powell, the current
environment for paying taxes in
Jamaica is testy.
“There is a lot of new tax legisla-
tion that are out that people are
still trying to understand, and to
complete your returns, you have to
have that understanding. The fact
that we are introducing a lot of
new systems online, in one go, is
also another challenge for both the
taxpayers and for us,” said Powell.
SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT
Jamaica’s ranking in the World
Bank Doing Business 2015 report
as it relates to paying taxes inched
up slightly from 152 out of 189
countries last year to 147.
“The environment is dynamic. It
has its levels of excitement, but it
has its level of challenges for the
taxpayers. What is critical on my
mind and that of the team at this
point in time is how we can remove
some of the challenges that we saw
emerging in the last three months
of the last fiscal year,” Pow-
ell said.
The TAJ head
added that in
addition to
some short-
comings
with the
roll-out of
some e-platforms, many Jamaicans
are not able to take advantage of
paying taxes online because they
don’t have credit cards to allow them
to take advantage of new offerings.
“One of the easiest ways is an e-
filing, but the number of persons
that have credit card to go on to
the system and the available limit
to make the payment is a chal-
lenge,” said Powell.
Eric A. Crawford, head of tax
services at PricewaterhouseCoop-
ers, agreed that “we are going in
the right direction”.
“The whole electronic
filing, the simplifica-
tion of and the
reduction of the
number of the
forms
that you have to complete are
extremely good measures. It will
take a little time to settle down but
we are going in the right direction.”
TAJ has been introducing several
reforms to further strengthen the tax
system and to increase efficiency in
the payment and collection of taxes.
Among the reforms implemented
as part of the country’s
four-year Extended
Fund Facility with
the International
Monetary Fund
is a modernisa-
tion pro-
gramme
office in
the TAJ to manage the implementa-
tion of tax reform.
SINGLE TAX FORM
There has also been the intro-
duction of a simplified annual tax
return filing for self-employed tax-
payers through a single annual
return, the S04 form.
The new form allows individuals
to use one document to report on
their annual income tax, education
tax, as well as their individual
NHT and NIS contributions.
But the process did not unfold as
smoothly as was anticipated and
Powell said the TAJ is looking to
make some changes.
“It had a lot of challenges
and we have to go back to the
drawing board to deal with
some of the nuances that have
arisen,” said Powell.
The TAJ, meanwhile, has
created a Revenue Adminis-
tration Integrated Systems
(RAiS) platform to enhance its
efficiency in administering
domestic taxes. This will be
rolled out over a two-
year period in
three phases, with full implementa-
tion set for June 2016.
With RAiS now operational tax-
payers will be able to use the
enhanced eServices to more easily
make payments and file their GCT
and SCT returns, as well as to
begin filing GART and TCT
returns electronically.
Customers using RAiS are able
to view their filing/payment history,
as well as any notice sent by the
administration. The new system
will also allow people to apply
online for all GCT refunds, make
payment arrangements, and submit
notices of objection, as it relates to
the particular tax types.
Another key feature is the ability
for taxpayers to do online direct
banking payments for the types.
These transactions will be facilitated
through the banking system’s auto-
matic clearing house.
“The idea is to look at the vari-
ous types of service channels that
are not going to require face-to-
face as the predominant approach,”
said Powell.
Crawford agreed as he said the
RaiS “has the promise of being a
much better system” than its prede-
cessor accounting system.
‘The whole
electronic filing,
the simplification
of and the
reduction of the
number of the
forms that you
have to complete
are extremely good
measures’
– Crawford TAJ
WORKING
TOMAKEPAYING
TAXES EASIER
Ainsley Powell, director general,
Tax Administration Jamaica.
FILE
In this 2009 photo, Dawn McNeil, collector of the Virtual Tax
Office, shows Timothy Fullerton from Tank-Weld Group how
to file and remit payroll deductions online, using the tax por-
tal at a focus group session.
‘WHAT IS CRITICAL ON MY MIND AND THAT OF THE TEAM AT THIS POINT
IN TIME IS HOW WE CAN REMOVE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES’ – POWELL
Get your tax questions
answered online
The Tax Administration of
Jamaica has one of the most
user-friendly and up-to-date
websites for any local state
entity. Visit it at