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. Every-one must pay their fair share; no more, no less," Finance Minister Audley Shaw declared yesterday as he opened the 2009-2010 Budget Debate.

Tax burden

"It is a well-known fact that too few of the members of the labour force are burdened and saddened with paying the majority of the taxes. It is said that over 200,000 persons in the professionals, self-employed people, various categories are earning income ... but no tax is being paid on the income," Shaw added.

He said the Government is to implement several initiatives this year to simplify the tax system while going after the tax dodgers.

"Effective July 1, the promised consolidation of statutory deductions will be implementedto make it a simpler process," the finance minister said to applause from both sides of the House.

Repeated excuse

According to Shaw, the Govern-ment and Opposi-tion agree on this move which will remove the often-repeated excuse that paying taxes is too complicated.

The finance minister also announced the establishment of a forensic data mining intelligence unit, which will be mandated to identify self-employed persons who are not paying their taxes.

"There is an income tax law in the country and the basis where the Government provides services on a decent basis," Shaw added as he declared his determination to capture the tax dodgers.

No questions asked

He noted that a tax amnesty had been implemented last year which resulted in the Government taking in almost $3 billion more than the $5 billion that it had targeted.

This year, the amnesty will be modified with persons being allowed to register to pay their taxes with no questions asked about the money they might have kept from the Government in the past.

"Start with making a declaration for 2008-2009 and I want to say if you don't accept this invitation, then rest assured that we are developing the capability that our auditors will be paying a visit to you," Shaw announced while making it clear that he was not threatening tax dodgers.

However, he noted that persons who fail to register as taxpayers and who are caught will be assessed for previous years.

Shaw's push to capture professionals and other self-employed persons who have evaded the tax net came as no surprise following a recent random sample of 500 doctors which found that 400 were not paying their taxes.

A similar study conducted by the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) in 2001 found that 94 per cent of self-employed persons were not paying taxes.

According to the JCTU, with 470,000 persons self-employed, only 25,625 filed returns in 2001.

Hunt on for 200,000 tax cheats

1) Improved efficiency at tax collectorates

2) Forensic data mining intelligence unit to track down tax dodgers

3) Plea with tax dodgers to register to pay their taxes - no questions about prior years for persons registered by October.