Jamaica receives IDB help to strengthen its fiscal administration ‪

The IDB loan is for 20 years, with a five-year grace period and an interest rate based on the London Interbank Offered Rate, LIBOR.

WASHINGTON, D.C, United States, Wednesday December 7, 2011 - Jamaica plans to modernize its fiscal administration through a program partly funded by a US$65 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).‪

The program will support the government’s strategy to achieve a sustainable fiscal position by strengthening the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Finance.

The IDB said focus would be on the modernization of tax administration, customs operations, debt management system and central Treasury management system.

“The program is expected to achieve its goals by 2016 through a decline in the gap between actual and potential collection of the General Consumption Tax. With the project, the gap is expected to fall to 36 percent from 45 percent,” the IDB stated.

“Moreover, the project will contribute reducing the percentage of large and medium taxpayers that fail to file their tax forms from 6 percent to 2 percent of the total filings. On the customs side efficiency will increase the adjusted monetary value of Post Clearance Audit assessments and raise the percentage of cargo manifests and import/export declarations processed electronically in advance from 57 percent to 100 percent.‪”

The IDB loan is for 20 years, with a five-year grace period and an interest rate based on the London Interbank Offered Rate, LIBOR. Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)