Jovan Johnson, Gleaner Writer

KINGSTON, Jamaica:
The Finance Minister, Dr Peter Phillips, has told Jamaicans that the painful revenue measures being imposed are part of a long term strategy to improve the economy.

And, he says the strategy requires commitment in order to be successful.

"We have been poor for too long as a country and we can only get out of it not by short term palliatives, but by laying the foundations for medium term and long-term growth which will raise income levels and create the kind of Jamaica which we all imagine although some of us have given up, I suspect on the prospect," said Phillips

Addressing a post Budget press conference Phillips, said any backward move would result in Jamaica’s commitment to reforms being questioned along with a backlash from the local and international financial markets.

"Any weh u tun macka jook yuh", he said, using the Jamaican expression that means consequences are inescapable.

However, he said it is absolutely necessary that the country stays the course of its economic reform programme.

"What you have to do is to ensure that the effect particularly on the most vulnerable is contained and your commitment to the same segments of the vulnerable population is to ensure that you remain on a path that can ultimately take them and their children and the generations to come out of poverty," Phillips said.

Meanwhile, Phillips said the Government considered at least six alternatives to the ones he announced last week to raise an additional $6.7 billion in revenues.

Among the measures considered was a special consumption tax on sweetened drinks.

Phillips said while the suggestion for a tax on sweetened drinks was novel, it was rejected because of potential problems with its implementation and the effect the measure would have on families struggling to provide meals for children going school.

He says the special consumption tax was proposed by finance ministry officials especially given associated health risks of sweetened drinks.

Phillips said there were also proposals for an increase in the General Consumption Tax (GCT) rate as well as expanding the list of items that attract the cess.

However, he says those too were rejected because they would contradict commitments to reduce the rate of GCT as well as cause adverse impact on the poorest.

The Finance Minister says the other measures that were rejected were an increase in the tax on petroleum as well as the re-imposition of a GCT on electricity.

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