Ouch...1.5million tax "Dis-Incentive" plan

My pastor always says if you can't say Amen say ouch, well after having heard the finance minister yesterday, I'm crying ouch for at least one of the revenue measures. 

After an election campaign based on a $1.5million tax incentive plan, the finance minister passionately called "man a yaad", decided to stamp his dominance. He revealed that not only will 118,100 workers benefit, but a whopping 251,000 workers will benefit as the new income tax threshold will be 1.5million dollars as of April 1, 2017. The first phase will a $1 million tax threshold effective July 1, 2016.

We are all benefiting from the new tax threshold; that's as long as you earn over 600K currently that is. But wait there is always a catch, and those are the new taxes that fund the new tax regime.

 These are they:

1. An Increase in Specific Consumption Tax on petrol by $7 per litre effective May 13, 2016

2. Introduction of Special Consumption Tax on LNG and revision of heavy fuel oil regime effective May 13, 2016
3. Increase in Special Consumption Tax on cigarettes from $12 per stick to $14 per stick effective May 13, 2016
4.  Increase in departure tax from US$14 to US$35 effective June 1, 2016 

As a driver number one hit me hardest, so obviously like many Jamaicans I went to my gas station and filled up my tank on May 12, 2016, in a bid to save about $400-500. This additional SCT on gas means that Jamaicans now have to fork over a whopping $41 per litre on gasoline. So it seems like Friday the 13th of May 2016 is a day fi bad Lucky.

Taxes on cigarettes I don't have an issue with as a non-smoker and as an economist. However, the more expensive cigarettes become smokers have an incentive to switch to marijuana, which is unregulated and untaxed. 

Finally the departure tax, most travel-related taxes are unseen unless you search for it so that this one will be the silent killer, the tourists will still come, and locals will still go 'farrin'. 

So as Man a Yaad preached to Jamaica yesterday, behind the pulpit of Gordon house, while the government choir was shouting Amen, myself and other Jamaicans, were shouting ouch. Audley can you hear us?

I must present a stern warning though any more taxes on gas will lead to a riot....lets not repeat 1999, I was young but I remember that we could hardly get home that day....