JHTA funds independent PwC assessment of GCT hike

HERON... we are commissioning independent, credible analysis so that every stakeholder — Government, industry, and the wider public — is working from the same sound evidence base THE Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) says it has engaged professional services firm PwC to conduct an independent impact assessment of the proposed increase in the General Consumption Tax (GCT) applied to the tourism sector that would raise the rate from 10 per cent to 15 per cent with effect from April 2027. The decision follows an emergency general meeting convened by JHTA President O’Brian Heron at Half Moon in Montego Bay on Friday, August 28, 2026. The proposed increase was announced as part of the Government’s revenue measures during the 2026-27 Budget Debate, prompting widespread concern across the tourism industry. Since the announcement the JHTA has met with Government representatives with the aim of finding common ground on the proposal. At last Friday’s JHTA meeting, members voted to approve a dedicated funding mechanism to finance the assessment — a commitment resourced directly by the membership itself. The association said it is framing the decision not as an expense but as an investment — one made by hoteliers and tourism operators across the country to ensure that the national conversation on the proposed increase is informed by rigorous, independent evidence rather than assertion. “This is our members putting their own resources behind the facts,” Heron is quoted in a JHTA news release. “The industry is not asking to be taken at its word. We are commissioning independent, credible analysis so that every stakeholder — Government, industry, and the wider public — is working from the same sound evidence base. That is what responsible advocacy looks like, and our membership has chosen to invest in it,” he said. PwC is described as the largest professional services firm, providing industry-focused audit, tax, assurance and related business advisory services for public, private and government clients. The JHTA said the PwC impact assessment is intended to establish, on an independent footing, the likely effect of the proposed GCT increase on the sector and on the wider economy it supports. “Its purpose is to quantify the consequences for destination competitiveness, visitor demand, sector investment, employment; and the downstream linkages that connect tourism to farmers, manufacturers, transport operators, and small businesses across Jamaica,” the JHTA said. The association said it expects the findings to sharpen the dialogue with Government and to help identify a path that protects revenue objectives without undermining the sector’s capacity to grow, employ and invest. The JHTA emphasised that it has consistently advocated growing the revenue base rather than raising the rate, and views the independent assessment as a constructive contribution to that dialogue. In June the JHTA had noted in a news release that many hotels, attractions, and tourism operators are bound by long-term contracts extending into 2027 and beyond, which it said limits their ability to absorb or pass on additional tax costs without affecting profitability and competitiveness. “Many businesses have already committed to pricing and contractual arrangements years in advance. Any sudden shift in the tax structure creates operational and financial pressures that deserve careful consideration and discussion,” then JHTA President Christopher Jarrett said. Last month Heron said the proposed GCT increase has left some investors uneasy as they assess their plans for the local tourism industry. “I have had calls from a number of investors who have told me, point blank, that they are concerned. And they really want us to get this GCT issue resolved as quickly as possible because it does affect their ability; it does affect their excitement, and their passion, and their trust in the ability to invest in destination Jamaica,” Heron told the Jamaica Observer. “There are concerns. A number of investors are restive at this time and are really waiting to see what the outcome will be of these GCT discussions and negotiations with the Government,” Heron added on the margins of a HEART/NSTA Trust Priority Sector Industry Roundtable with tourism stakeholders. He emphasised that the tourism sector “is not anti-tax”, pointing out that the sector pays its fair share of taxes, “whether it is through corporate taxes or other statutory taxes that actually exist”. Added Heron: “To operate a hotel we’re also subjected to a number of licences and fees that are renewable every year and come with their own sets of inspections.” In its release on Tuesday the JHTA reaffirmed its “commitment to a partnership approach with the Government in the interest of the country’s most important foreign exchange-and employment-generating industry”.