Opposition Spokesman Proposes Electronic Invoicing System For TAJ

Opposition Spokesperson on Finance, Julian Robinson, has proposed the implementation of an Electronic Invoicing System for Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ).

He made the recommendation during his contribution to the 2026/27 budget debate in the House of Representatives on March 12.

Mr. Robinson estimates that the e-invoicing system could generate an additional $8.6 billion in tax revenue through improved tax compliance.

He noted that currently, when businesses make sales, they are required to upload their transaction records for verification by the tax authority.

“The problem with that model is that the obligation to upload sits with the business, and there can be slippage. Not necessarily because businesses are deliberately evading their obligations, although that happens, but because in a system where the seller is responsible for submitting the records, transactions can go unrecorded, uploads can be incomplete, and the gap between what was earned and what was reported is not always caught,” he pointed out.

Mr. Robinson noted that TAJ is dependent on what businesses choose to submit, and that dependence creates the under-collection problem.

He argued that an electronic invoicing system changes that dynamic fundamentally.

“Rather than waiting for businesses to upload their records after the fact, the transaction data is captured and transmitted to TAJ automatically at the point of sale. The

government is no longer relying on voluntary compliance with an upload requirement.

The information flows directly and is matched automatically against what has been

declared and remitted,” he stated.

“The scope for under collection shrinks considerably because the data is already there, verified and auditable, without the business having to do anything beyond completing the sale,” he added.

Mr. Robinson said case studies on this initiative from across the region have been looked at. He said Mexico, declared revenues increased by 14 per cent in the three years after electronic invoicing became mandatory.

In Uruguay, VAT and corporate income tax collection rose by an estimated 3.7 per cent when the system became compulsory. Also, in Peru, taxable sales reported to the tax authority increased by seven per cent in the first year alone.

Mr. Robinson said that Chile, which pioneered the model in Latin America, saw over eight million electronic tax documents being processed monthly at the point of maturity, covering more than a quarter of all tax documents issued in the country.

“The pattern is consistent wherever this has been implemented. Better data

means better compliance, and better compliance means more revenue from the same

tax rates, without asking anyone to pay more than they already owe,” he stated.

He noted that experience in Chile and other countries that have followed a similar model demonstrates that the revenue gains from better compliance are achievable, and that “we in Jamaica have every reason to pursue a similar path.”