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Tax Burden in Jamaica

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Abstract

The Government of Jamaica imposes a wide range of taxes on income, consumption, and property. An important consideration in any reform of these taxes is their impact of the distribution of income, or their tax burden. This staff paper presents background and analysis of the burden of the existing system of taxes. The question of “who bears the final burden of a tax?” is a fundamental one. Any tax will cause individuals and firms to change their behaviors, and the resulting changes in product and factor prices will affect the “incidence”, or the distributional effects, of the tax. Economists have devoted much attention to the question of tax incidence. Although there is wide agreement about the incidence of some taxes, such as excise or individual income taxes, the incidence of other taxes remains controversial. Even so, several basic “principles” of tax incidence should be kept in mind.

Suggested Citation

  • Dillon Alleyne & James Alm & Roy Bahl & Sally Wallace, 2004. "Tax Burden in Jamaica," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0434, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    • Handle: RePEc:ays:ispwps:paper0434
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    File URL: http://icepp.gsu.edu/files/2015/03/ispwp0434.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bird, Richard M & Miller, Barbara Diane, 1989. "The Incidence of Indirect Taxes on Low-Income Households in Jamaica," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(2), pages 393-409, January.
    2. Felix Rioja & Keith E. Maskus, 2004. "Taxation Issues in The Jamaican External Trade Sector," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0429, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    3. David L. Sjoquist, 2004. "The Land Value Tax in Jamaica:An Analysis and Options for Reform," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0426, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    4. Shaohua Chen & Gaurav Datt & Martin Ravallion, 1994. "Is Poverty Increasing In The Developing World?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 40(4), pages 359-376, December.
    5. James Alm & Sally Wallace, 2004. "Payroll Taxes and Contributions," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0431, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    6. Lipton, Michael & Ravallion, Martin, 1995. "Poverty and policy," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Hollis Chenery & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 41, pages 2551-2657, Elsevier.
    7. World Bank, 2003. "Jamaica - The Road to Sustained Growth : Country Economic Memorandum," World Bank Publications - Reports 14666, The World Bank Group.
    8. Mark Rider, 2004. "Corporate Income Tax and Tax Incentives," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0428, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    9. Sally Wallace & James Alm, 2004. "The Jamaican Individual Income Tax," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0430, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    10. Kelly D. Edmiston & Richard M. Bird, 2004. "Taxing Consumption in Jamaica:The GCT and the SCT," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0432, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    11. By G. J. TROTTER, 1969. "Personal Income Tax," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 37(4), pages 306-344, December.
    12. Roy Bahl, 2004. "Property Transfer Tax and Stamp Duty," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0427, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
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    Cited by:

    1. Dagney Faulk & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Sally Wallace, 2007. "Using Human-Capital Theory to Establish a Potential-Income Tax," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 63(3), pages 415-435, September.
    2. James Alm & Sally Wallace, 2007. "Are Jamaica’s Direct Taxes on Labor “Fair†?," Public Finance Review, , vol. 35(1), pages 83-102, January.
    3. Roy Bahl & Sally Wallace, 2007. "From Income Tax to Consumption Tax?. The Case of Jamaica," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 63(3), pages 396-414, September.
    4. Nora Lustig, 2011. "Fiscal policy and income redistribution in Latin America: Challenging the conventional wisdom," Working Papers 227, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    5. Nora Lustig, 2019. "Measuring the Distributional Impact of Taxation and Public Spending: The Practice of Fiscal Incidence Analysis," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 24, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    6. Dillon Alleyne, 2007. "The Evolution of Jamaica’s Tax Burden," Public Finance Review, , vol. 35(1), pages 150-171, January.
    7. James Alm & Edward Sennoga & Mark Skidmore, 2005. "Perfect Competition, Spatial Competition, and Tax Incidence in the Retail Gasoline Market," Working Papers 05-09, UW-Whitewater, Department of Economics.
    8. Sally Wallace & James Alm, 2004. "The Jamaican Individual Income Tax," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0430, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    9. Umir Wahid & Sally Wallace, 2008. "Incidence of Taxes in Pakistan: Primer and Estimates," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0813, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.

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    Keywords

    Jamaica; Tax Burden;

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