Keep 16.5% tax on computers, 50% duty relief for cars: We want Justice!

Desperate for a little cash to close the debt gap some dumb ass in the Jamaican Government thought it was cool to start charging 16.5% GCT on computers, an item that was previously exempt and was helping to close the digital divide here.  According to them, only computers bought for educational purposes will remain untaxed. That was in April this year. No sound from any seller associations, any tech groups, nada. But I’m sure a bandoolo (Jamaican for scam) go-around “service” has been created to solve this problem already.

Then this past week, desperate for a little more cash to close the debt gap, some smart ass in the Government flew the gate and decided…yes that’s what we need more cars on the Jamaican roads, so 50% duty relief of imported cars was given. This against the background that sales on existing cars on dealer lots fell about 40% in the first 6 months of this year. And personal sales of used cars are  going as fast as molasses.

Price of Computers, let the Service Providers solve that eh!
Ook ok I know the rationale seems to be more cars on the congested roads, more gas tax in the Government’s depleting coffers to the tune of billllionss, a feat can’t achieved by computer sales and service. But you see, I’m pretty passionate about making computers and Internet access ubiquitous in Jamaica. I am a strong believer in narrowing the gap between the information haves and have nots, the opportunity haves and have nots – something not shared by the Bruce Golding Government clearly. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, once a Jamaican gets information, gets educated, sees an opportunity they run with and fast like Usain Bolt to the finish. So it’s not about just letting high school kids get the break, it’s also about the young professionals, the young entrepreneurs who are living and wanting to do business in this Digital Age, where having a computer and high speed internet is not a privelege but a frickin right.

We have high speed Internet of all sorts coming out of our arses here thanks to Flow,Claro, LIME and soon Digicel, yet many can’t feed their need for speed and hunger for information and opportunity, because the Internet access device-the computer is unnecessarily expensive. Clearly, the Government is probably forcing the hands of Internet service providers like Flow, Digicel,LIME and Claro to solve that access device problem, so we’ll see.

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