Jamaica’s hoteliers are threatening to withhold property taxes until they have been consulted on the government’s proposed increases.
The tax rises announced by finance minister Audley Shaw earlier this month will see some hotels paying increases of up to 980% from April 1, according to the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA).
It has called on member hoteliers to withhold payments until the government has justified the increases, which are based on 2013 valuations.
"We think that’s ludicrous, it is gouging …and what is unfathomable about it is that there has been no dialogue. Nobody knows the computation of these formulae that were used to calculate them. We need to know how it is computed," said JHTA president Omar Robinson.
"We want them to at least explain to us how they are justifying the increase. The range of increase is far too varied."
"Our operating costs are increasing. We can’t go to our tour operators and increase our rates," he added.
