Charities outside of Act to stop receiving tax waivers

Government is to cease the granting of waivers to charities other than under the Charities Act as of the end of this week as part of the structural benchmarks agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

After November 30, organisations that have not been registered under the new regime, the Charities Act, will not be eligible for exemptions granted under the Act.

In its first letter of intent to the IMF in April, the Jamaican Government announced that the granting of discretionary tax waivers would be greatly curtailed.

Implementation of the regime, which includes strict monthly caps on remaining discretionary tax waivers, would be monitored as a continuous structural benchmark, according to the agreement.

The Government has also committed to not approve any new waivers or renew any waiver category or other tax incentive and not amend existing legislation to generate further tax expenditures until an Omnibus Tax Incentive law comes into effect by the end of 2013.

To ensure adequate monitoring of economic variables and reforms, the Jamaican Government has agreed to provide the IMF with data on tax waivers for charities and charitable giving on a monthly basis.