ISI Grants - Return On Investment
Jamaica Tax Reform Project
In 2003, the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Jamaica approached the Andrew Young School to conduct a comprehensive review of its tax system. This activity was important as Jamaica had not conducted a comprehensive review in nearly 20 years. With support from GSU’s International Strategic Initiative (ISI) seed grants program, Andrew Young School was able to prepare a successful proposal to the Government of Jamaica to assess the country's tax system. Project activities included extensive reviews of Jamaica’s major direct and indirect taxes such as the income and payroll taxes, property taxes, customs tariffs, and value-added tax. The final report , dubbed the Matalon Report, and submitted to the country's minister of finance in December 2004, also included an evaluation of Jamaica's system of tax incentives, distributional analyses, and a variety of tax reform options.
The outcome of the project includes:
- $1 million-dollar grant to the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
- Recommendations to the Jamaican Government of choices of methodologies and associated options.
- Academic and other publications including a final report published by the Planning Institute of Jamaica.
For details on this project, please visit: http://aysps.gsu.edu/isp/1878.html and/or contact Paul Benson at paulbenson@gsu.edu
