PM Holness Says GCT on Electricity Will Cut from 15% to 7%
"it is estimated that only 77% of Jamaican households can afford to pay their energy bill"
On Sunday, November 24, inside the National Arena in Kingston/St. Andrew, the leader of Jamaica Dr. Hon. Andrew Holness made several announcements and promises. His speech on the electrical issues many Jamaicans are facing was one of the highlights of the conference.
As it relates to transport, on social media, Holness stated, “We are deploying 100 new buses in rural areas to ensure students can travel more affordably and efficiently.”
As per Holness, over 290k Jamaicans have benefited from the reverse income tax credit.
As it relates to those who are in disarray with the National Water Commission(NWC), Holness promised discounts for some debts, he also announced that some debts will be totally written off.
He went on to declare that the general consumption tax (GCT) that is currently on electricity will be cut, in almost half, from 15 per cent to 7 per cent, next year. The changes are scheduled to take effect after the next budget, which is to be approved by March 2025.
“We care about your electricity… everybody complains about their electricity bill, it is estimated that only 77% of Jamaican households can afford to pay their energy bill,” said Holness.
“The government will reduce GCT on electricity from 15% which it is now, to 7%,” he said before detailing that he turned up to the annual press conference for business before announcing several upgrades and future upgrades that will be made to the system to better suit the customers.
One of the many improvements includes, ‘Time of day pricing’, an initiative that is expected to make customers economise the use of electricity, using energy less during peak hours which will also be good for the grid.
He concluded his speech on electricity by saying, “We will reduce the tax burden on electricity and we will improve the efficiency of the electricity sector, we will reduce the cost of living to you that electricity poses and we will increase our growth prospect by having a more efficient electric grid thereby increasing our prospect for growing the economy.”
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