MoBay mayor says municipal corporation owed approximately $3 billion in taxes and fees
Published:Saturday | March 23, 2024 | 10:57 AM
Mayor of Montego Bay Richard Vernon is calling for residents and business operators in St James to honour their obligations and pay their taxes.
According to Vernon, the St James Municipal Corporation is seeking to collect outstanding property tax and trade licences fees amounting to approximately $3 billion.
These funds, he said, are needed to provide better services such as fixing roads and collecting solid waste, thereby improving the level of municipal services in the parish.
“There is a large room for improvement, case in point, only 43 percent of St James is property tax compliant, resulting in a deficit of $2.5 billion,” Vernon said.
He revealed that of the approximately 6,000 businesses operating in the parish, based on the corporation database, more than half are delinquent in paying their trade licences fees.
“And only 28 percent of businesses are paying for their licence to operate in the space within the municipality,” Vernon said.
He provided those data Friday night while addressing business leaders and residents of the parish at the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry Business Expo where some 124 companies are showing their goods and services.
The 20th biennial staging of the three-day MBCCI business expo started yesterday and is being held under the theme “Future Forward: Shaping Tomorrow's Business Today” at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.
- Albert Ferguson
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