There is no doubt that banks in Jamaica have increased fees to compensate for the losses from 3 debt exchanges in 3 years and the Jamaican consumer have had to bear the brunt on these increased cost.
While banks fees have been moving up, I am more concerned about what the government is doing to me as it relates to taxes, the movement of the dollar, the movement of oil prices and the rapid increase in the cost of goods and services.
My property taxes in 2013 for example was 146% above where they were in the previous year. The cost per litre of fuel has increased significantly over the past two years, resulting in increase electricity cost and the cost of all goods and services.
The Jamaican dollar lost approx 15% of its value, which has translated in an equivalent or greater increase in the price of goods and service to reflect this change.
My income last year fell in real terms by more than 15% and is likely to fall even more this year given the target set for inflation and additional price increases that we can all expect to see.
So while persons are jumping on the back of the banks, the Government has placed us over a barrel and taking us for everything they can, without providing any improvement in the services they offer for our increased payments.
Targeting the banks at this time is just another distraction, which is meant to take focus from the poor performance of this government.
Filed under: Economics |
Warren's Blog 
JLP will face 16 more years in opposition. They cannot relate to the problems facing the regular Jamaicans. Banks Fees a breed most us of
I want the BOJ or Ministry of Finance try to regulate bank fees and you’ll see the consequence of such action.
Banks are businesses, business people don’t need to be altruistic many bankers have defended themselves in light of the criticisms that their businesses have received, if some believe that the banks are being unfair then they should withdraw their funds and invest in credit unions or foreign businesses. Jamaicans really do not understand the role of businesses, a business is not a trough like government
Hahahaha…yet who do these Banks run to when they get into financial trouble? Yes, the government. I guess you forget how they all lined up like little pigs begging for government support during the 1990s financial crisis after these so-call businesses (Banks, Insurance Companies, et. al.) squandered their depositors funds on high risk and poor conceived ventures.
I suppose you think government have no role to play as far as business/industry regulations and business should be given free reign to form cartels, collude/fix market rates, (to their advantage) and self-regulate? I know you like to read and regurgitate theories, why not research the plethora of greed-driven drivers that lead to the near collapse of the entire world financial markets back in 2008. The more you write, the more you expose the limits of intellect. Naive? Yes!!
Do you understand my beliefs, because if you really knew what the free market was about then you would have known that I do not support corporate welfare or monopolies
This was published in the observer last year. So I change some elements
Do away with the property tax privatise
THE EDITOR, SIR:
Taxes are vital for the provision of public services, but politicians must not use this fact to impose unfair taxes. One such tax is the property tax, which goes directly to Parish Councils. According to council officials, the property tax is responsible for constructing parochial roads, the maintenance of drains and financing garbage collection, but contrary to public opinion the termination of this tax will not disrupt the provision of public services. Presently, Jamaica has one of the more rigid tax systems in the world, according to international auditors PriceWaterhouse Coopers, therefore it should be the government’s intention to improve the tax system in order to achieve greater compliance; there is no need for a property tax to construct roads parochial roads, Jamaicans are already overtaxed and overburdened. When the Central Government refines its IT infrastructure, then more taxes will be paid into the government’s coffers, hence relying on a property tax to maintain local roads will not be necessary. Although there is a property tax, many drains in poor communities are not being adequately repaired and since these residents are not major landowners they do not pay a property tax so why should an overtaxed Jamaican pay for a service that he does not need? If we were to abolish the property tax, and change the nature of the Constituency Development Fund then public services will be improved. For example, the Constituency Development Fund, functions like a trough for garrison politicians and their dependents, hence the calls for it to be repealed. Instead of repealing the fund it should be used to improve the built environment and the fact that a cash-strapped administration is able to waste 75 million on pork barrel projects under the guise of Christmas programmes, is an indication to taxpayers that politicians are willing to use their money to advance their political popularity, so equipping the CDF with adequate resources will not be a problem. The National Solid Waste Management Authority is inefficient and the service is untenable, so a more competitive garbage disposal sector is in the best interest of consumers. Due to the company’s uncompetitive pricing policy and mismanagement, the agency is unable to maintain its vehicles, therefore there is a great reliance on private contractors which were owed $761 million last year. Privatizing the NSWMA and encouraging competition would not only result in a better service for consumers, but the company would be free from political cronyism and citizens will no longer be forced to pay a property tax. Like most local government bodies, the St.Elizabeth Parish Council is raking up losses in the millions, so like the property tax, local government is also irrelevant and taxpayers can no longer afford it. Furthermore, the development approval process is quite tardy because of this bureaucracy called local government and because most local government officials are not trained in procurement, the problem becomes more complicated. Abolishing local government and privatizing the development approval process would make it easier to do business in Jamaica and eliminating the property tax could spark a boom in sectors like tourism and construction. Citizens should not be fooled, local government will not improve a participatory democracy, less government equals more freedom and the property tax is just an income redistribution programme.
Lipton Matthews