Fuel tax plugs gap - Income threshold up - GCT bitters salt, syrup, soup prices
REVENUE FROM an increase in the tax on petrol is expected to plug a vast section of an $18-billion hole in the national Budget.Finance Minister Audley Shaw said in Parliament yesterday that $13.3 billion is to be collected from the $8.75 tax that has been imposed...

Economic situation to deteriorate - Shaw
THE ECONOMY shrank by 0.6 per cent in the last fiscal year and projections for the current fiscal year are that the situation will deteriorate further.Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, in his opening contribution to the 2009-2010...

Going after tax dodgers - Gov't to target professionals and self-employed persons not paying up
Doctors, lawyers, entertainers, business operators and other self-employed persons who have been evading the tax net are to come in for special attention this fiscal year. "The tax administration will be putting the spotlight on tax cheats...

Poor-tia's lament - Says Budget ignores poverty
Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller has flayed Finance Minister Audley Shaw overhis 2009-2010 Budget Debate presentation.Simpson Miller told The Gleaner yesterday evening that her initial reaction to Shaw's presentation...

Budget reactions
....

UWI takes steps to limit impact of budget slash
The University of the West Indies, Mona, is to adopt a number of initiatives aimed at minimising the impact of the $700-million cut in its budget.The initiatives include acce-lerating the pace of transformation into a more agile and self-reliant campus...

Bus fare increase in the works
Commuters who travel by the state-owned Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) buses can brace for a fare increase shortly and indications are that this could be as much as 50 per cent. Finance Minister Audley Shaw stayed away from the subject yesterday when he told Parliament...