PSOJ says transfer pricing rules are scary for investors

The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) has reacted to the decision of the Parliament to enact new transfer pricing rules saying they are scary for investors.

The transfer pricing regime seeks to ensure that transactions involving companies of the same family are done equally and not transferred from one to the other to avoid taxes.

PSOJ President William Mahfood says there are aspects of the framework that could frighten big international investors that were planning to come to Jamaica.

Under the new regime, suspicious company transactions will be open to investigation by the tax authorities.

However, Mahfood says the PSOJ want more dialogue on the matter. 

The Commissioner General of Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ), Ainsley Powell, maintains that the new transfer pricing regime will bring more equity and clarity to the process of determining whether intra-company transactions are fair.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted along party lines, with the Government side prevailing, for the enactment of rules to give effect to a transfer pricing bill which was recently passed.