PNP’s Campaign Promises Will Cost Approximately $90B

The Opposition PNP’s campaign promises would cost the country approximately $90 billion in revenue.

That’s based on an assessment of the cost of the total package of promises put forward in the party’s major manifesto.

It also covers the additional promise to raise the country’s income tax threshold to $3.5 million.

The PNP says it will implement the promises without being fiscally reckless, and without imposing new taxes.

Chevon Campbell tells us more.

The PNP estimates its first phase of promises would cost the country $36 billion.

Here’s the party’s spokesman of Education, Damion Crawford, putting forward the figure.

The party at the time pledged to take that chunk of revenue from discretionary spending.

It’s not immediately clear if that $36 billion includes the $11 billion that the party says it will stop drawing down from the National Housing Trust.

But added to the first raft of promises, the party is now pledging to raise the country’s income tax threshold to $3.5 million.

Based on estimates provided by former Finance Minister, Dr. Nigel Clarke, that would cost the country approximately $50 billion.

This is how Opposition Spokesman for Finance, Julian Robinson, explained how the PNP would go about funding the income tax threshold.

The income tax threshold currently sits at $1.8 million.

The JLP has promised to move it to $2 million over the next two years, using a phased approach of $100,000 increments.

Mr. Robinson pointed to natural increases in revenues and increased GDP growth over the next three years of approximately $140 billion based on the Fiscal Policy Paper.

A check of the Fiscal Policy Paper projects that over that period, despite the increase in revenues, the country is anticipated to run a fiscal deficit of $34 billion dollars in 2026-2027, 33-billion 27-28 and nearly 6-billion in 28-29.

To make up the shortfall, the government intends to borrow roughly $760 billion over the period.

But, PNP President Mark Golding sought to assure Jamaicans his party would not compromise critical programmes as part of a reprioritization under a future PNP administration.