Probox comments misunderstood, suggests Williams
Published:Tuesday | March 25, 2025 | 5:14 PM
Finance Minister Fayval Williams has signalled that her suggestion for citizens to put aside the savings derived from the increase in the income tax ceiling for the down payment on a Probox motor car was misunderstood.
The income tax threshold is set to increase from $1.7 million per annum to $1.8 million effective April 1 this year, Williams announced two weeks ago when she opened the 2025-2026 Budget debate in Parliament.
This would result in an average monthly saving of $2,000, according to experts.
The income tax threshold will be increased to $1.9 million in the next fiscal year and $2 million in fiscal year 2027-2028.
Williams suggested, during an interview on Television Jamaica’s discussion programme ‘All Angles’ with host Dionne Jackson Miller, that the $2,000, if it was saved faithfully over a three-year period, could be used to make the down payment on a Toyota Probox motor car.
The suggestion quickly went viral and became a lightning rod for critics who argued that it was not feasible.
But while closing the Budget debate on Thursday, the finance minister drew on her upbringing in the rural St Catherine community of Tydixon.
She recounted how her mother used to sell cornmeal puddings outside Tydixon Primary School to earn enough money to purchase school uniforms and a pair of “Bata” sneakers for her children “so that we did not have to walk barefooted to school and we didn’t have to wear the washed out uniforms”.
“It is the experience of putting aside something, no matter how small, that still lives on in me. It’s not where you begin, it’s where you end. Rome was not built in a day, tek you hand mek fashion,” she said.
“I want to thank Mr Vegas and others in social media who understood the message of one, one cocoa full basket,” Williams added, making reference to the popular dancehall entertainer.
Disclosing that there are 23,423 Probox owners in Jamaica, she urged the opposition People’s National Party and its supporters to “be very careful that you don’t disrespect Probox”.
- Livern Barrett
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