Jamaica’s New Departure Tax Increase Raises Ire

Jamaica’s Finance Minister Audley Shaw on Tuesday announced a series of new taxes including a new departure tax on passengers flying out of Jamaica. In an interview in the Jamaica Gleaner, Wayne Cummings, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, criticized the “80 percent increase in the departure tax” that took effect on Oct. 1.

The departure tax, which is hidden in the price of airline tickets or collected at the airport before departure from Jamaica, will increase from $11 to $20. Mr. Cummings also criticized an announcement by the government that it will be extracting $900 million from the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) in order to “boost its overseas marketing.”

Mr. Cummings disagreed with using the funds from the TEF for advertising, but conceded that economic challenges now facing Jamaica required the government act in some way. The government’s tax increases, which will also be levied on phone calls and phone cards, are designed to raise $19.3 million.