Jamaica may not collect $1.9b for exempting bauxite levy

<p>The Jamaican government is likely to lose nearly $1.9 billion annually for its decision to exempt on the bauxite levy. The government exempted bauxite levy as part of a tax regime overhaul for extractive industries, as reported.</p> <p><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/timthumb.jpg" alt="news" width="448" height="275" /></p> <p>The&nbsp;Financial Gleaner calculated the loss figure based on Global Finance&rsquo;s 2017 estimate of Jamaica&rsquo;s US$14.6 billion GDP and sourced from the IMF&rsquo;s World Economic Outlook 2016.</p> <p>According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), &ldquo;The recent decision to provide discretionary waivers by further widening leftover exemptions on the bauxite levy created a revenue loss of over 0.1 per cent of GDP per year, leaving the bauxite sector undertaxed and potentially undermining the hard-earned gains from the elimination of a range of tax incentives in 2014.&rdquo;</p> <p>{googleAdsense}</p> <p>Finance Minister Audley Shaw said that the government has made the decision in order to keep the operations of Noranda bauxite in St Ann. &nbsp;Shaw explained this was done in order to help China's Jiquan Iron and Steel Company (JISCO) to invest US$2 billion over five years in Alpart bauxite refinery in Nain, St Elizabeth.</p>