Gas Tax?
Well it is budget time in Jamaica, and with falling revenues from Bauxite, Tourism and other areas, the government is looking for new areas to raise revenue. Since late 2008, Mike Henry, Minister of Transport and Works, has been floating the idea of an increasing the tax on gas. The last time an increase in the tax on gas was attempted, the Government of the time faced the Gas Riots of 1999 and had to roll back the tax. Since then any suggestion of an increase in the gas tax has quietly died.
The problem is this time, the government might argue that it has no where else to turn. Our dependency on foreign oil is a huge drain on the economy and the demand for US$ continues to put pressure on the Jamaican dollar. Jamaica continues to have one of cheapest gas prices for a country that that does not have oil. Taxing gasoline also the government to widen the tax net, something that governments have been trying to do over the years.
For now we sit and wait and wonder, gas tax increase and how much?