Are Jamaica’s Direct Taxes on Labor “Fair†?

James Alm () and Sally Wallace

Public Finance Review, 2007, vol. 35, issue 1, 83-102

Abstract: The Government of Jamaica imposes a variety of taxes on the earnings of labor. Jamaica’s direct taxes and charges on labor income include the pay-asyou-earn (PAYE) income tax and five payroll taxes. In total, these taxes generate nearly one-third of the total tax revenues of the government in fiscal year 2002-2003, with the PAYE itself responsible for more than one-fifth of total revenues. This article uses unique micro-level data to analyze the vertical and, especially, the horizontal equity of these taxes. The authors find that the taxes are generally progressive in their overall pattern of incidence but that they also introduce significant horizontal inequities due to their uneven coverage and their many special provisions.

Keywords: tax incidence; vertical equity; horizontal equity; micro-simulation model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:pubfin:v:35:y:2007:i:1:p:83-102

DOI: 10.1177/1091142106293443

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