Jamaica

Jamaica has 14 tax agreements in force, as reported in its response to the Peer Review questionnaire, including the multilateral agreement among the members of the CARICOM concluded with ten treaty partners (the CARICOM Agreement). In total, Jamaica identified 23 "agreements" in its List of Tax agreements: thirteen bilateral agreements and the CARICOM Agreement.

Jamaica can legally issue the following five types of rulings within the scope of the transparency framework: (i) preferential regimes; With respect to the following preferential regimes: Special economic zones. (ii) cross-border unilateral APAs and any other cross-border unilateral tax rulings (such as an advance tax ruling) covering transfer pricing or the application of transfer pricing principles; (iii) rulings providing for unilateral downward adjustments; (iv) permanent establishment rulings; and (v) related party conduit rulings.

Jamaica was first reviewed during the 2018/2019 peer review. This report is supplementary to that previous report (OECD, 2018[2]).

Jamaica has 14 tax agreements in force, as reported in its response to the Peer Review questionnaire, including the multilateral agreement among the members of the CARICOM concluded with ten treaty partners (the CARICOM Agreement). In total, Jamaica identified 23 "agreements" in its List of Tax agreements: 13 bilateral agreements and the CARICOM Agreement.

This peer review covers Jamaica’s implementation of the BEPS Action 5 transparency framework for the year 2018. The report has four parts, each relating to a key part of the ToR. Each part is discussed in turn. A summary of recommendations is included at the end of this report.

This report is Jamaica’s first annual peer review report. Consistent with the agreed methodology this report covers: (i) the domestic legal and administrative framework, (ii) the exchange of information framework as well as (iii) the appropriate use of CbC reports. There is no filing obligation for a CbC report in Jamaica yet.

1. Consistent with the agreed methodology this first annual peer review covers: (i) the domestic legal and administrative framework, (ii) certain aspects of the exchange of information framework as well as (iii) certain aspects of the confidentiality and appropriate use of CbC reports. Jamaica does not yet have a complete legal and administrative framework in place to implement CbC Reporting and indicates that it will not apply CbC requirements for the 2016 fiscal year. It is recommended that Jamaica finalise the domestic legal and administrative framework to impose and enforce CbC requirements as soon as possible, taking into account its particular domestic legislative process.

The country profile includes data on the income taxes paid by workers, their social security contributions, the family benefits they receive in the form of cash transfers as well as the social security contributions and payroll taxes paid by the employers. Results reported include the average and marginal tax burdens for eight different family types.It also describes the personal income tax systems, all compulsory social security contribution schemes and universal cash transfers as well as recent changes in the tax/benefit system.

This chapter presents 2014 road safety data for Jamaica along with provisional data from 2015. It looks at recent trends in traffic and road safety and road user behaviour patterns. This includes data on speed, drink driving, drugs and driving, distracted driving, fatigue and seat belt usage. The chapter reviews Jamaica’s road safety strategy and national targets along with recently implemented safety measures.*

This chapter presents the most recent crash data for Jamaica, as well as an update on the country’s road safety strategy and recently implemented safety measures.

The pension system has a basic component and an additional earnings-related component. For those ineligible for the basic pension there is a social assistance component.

Jamaican legislation prohibits all discrimination based on race or religion, but does not make any reference to gender. The government is reviewing a draft charter on fundamental rights that would specify gender on the list of prohibited discriminations. Jamaica’s Civil Code and Penal Code still contain numerous discriminatory measures, and the language used in the country’s laws is not gender-neutral. Traditional gender stereotypes are institutionalised within Jamaica’s education system, the media, religion and the family.

Jamaica’s education system operates in the context of diffi cult economic conditions. Infl ation and unemployment rates are high and the economy, which is heavily dependent on the service sector, especially tourism, declined sharply after the 2001 downturn in global trade and tourism. Economic growth between 1995 and 2003 was negligible and income per capita decreased slightly. Today, Jamaica stands at the lower end of WEI countries with a GDP per capita of PPP$ 3 800.

Investor perceptions of Jamaica as a location for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) have improved within the last decade and investors are generally supportive of the Jamaican government’s efforts to attract FDI. Political stability and democratic government rank high among the factors drawing investors to Jamaica. This report looks at areas which need to be improved as well as concrete measures to be implemented by the government (often with the support of international organisations) to further enhance Jamaica’s investment climate. Jamaica’s main objective is to transform itself into a knowledge-based economy, using foreign private investment as a strategic tool to meet its development goals of human capital improvement, increased productivity, job creation, transfer of technology and export diversification ...

This chapter presents Jamaica’s taxpayer education programme. It first gives an overview of the whole programme and its objectives, followed by a focus on one specific element, the Schools Taxpayer Education Programme (STEP). An additional section provides information on the staffing and costs of STEP. It subsequently looks at the impacts and lessons learnt of the initiative, followed by an outlook on next steps.