With many tech companies earning and not paying into the government’s coffers, Finance Minister Fayval Williams promises that collecting tax from these entities will be vigorously pursued should the Jamaica Labour Party be returned to power in the general election on Wednesday, September 3.

While speaking at the political debates Tuesday evening, Williams’ direct opposition, Julian Robinson, said it is clear that the current government has no policy on the matter, and suggested that there needs to be a collaboration across the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). 

The question posed by Andrea Chisolm, journalist from Television Jamaica, was, “Google and TikTok are earning money and data from the Jamaican economy, but they are not paying taxes in Jamaica. What policy changes will your administration pursue to ensure that Jamaica directly collects taxes from these platforms?”

Williams said the JLP recognises that those entities are not paying taxes, and the Tax Administration of Jamaica are in conversation with the entities to ensure that Jamaican people get their fair share of taxes.

“We sit on some of the international bodies that look at taxes across different countries to ensure that there’s fairness in what’s being done, and I know that we will pursue it vigorously to ensure that Jamaica is not left out as these companies thrive on our data,” Williams explained.

Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information Dr Dana Morris Dixon, chiming in, noted that “a lot of our young people are using these platforms”, and recently she saw someone selling “nice products” on TikTok, which she was interested in buying.

“So, our young people are using these platforms very well, and they’re creating content that is absolutely amazing, and so we have the tack side that the Minister has said, that we’re looking at, in a more multilateral kind of approach, as we tend to do as Jamaicans, but also, there are also some other concerns too, in relations to artificial intelligence.

“They’re using a lot of our creative energy. They’re using our music. They’re using our cultural ideas, and those are going into AI programmes,” she said.

In his rebuttal, Robinson of the People’s National Party (PNP), said policy is needed to address these concerns.

“This is where we have to work with our CARICOM states to develop a common policy. Why? Because these are large multinationals. Their GDP would dwarf the entire Caribbean region, and so it requires some consensus among the region to ensure that you implement a policy which every country agrees to, and that can stand the test of time,” Robinson said.

“We [the PNP] recognise the importance of our creatives. That’s why we are establishing a one billion dollar fund. Not like the [JLP’s] Film Fund that has disbursed zero, but a one billion dollar fund for our creatives, our artists, our singers, our potters, the people who create content, so they can build their business,” he said.