The internet tax portal offers the public the option of online payment of select categories of taxes and fees, including:

• Traffic tickets
• General consumption tax
• Special consumption tax
• Betting taxes
• Property tax
• Hotel licence fees
• General receipts such as vehicle fitness
• Driver's licence examination fee
• Travel agency fee
• Petroleum fees

The project, launched officially on Thursday, was developed with assistance from the United States Trade Development Agency (USTDA).

"Right now will accept payment through international credit cards such as MasterCard and Visa," said Meris Haughton, JTAD director of public relations.

She said payment through local debit and credit cards such as Keycard would follow.  The tax authorities are targeting "anybody who has internet access" to utilise the service.  But that's only about five per cent of the population, maybe less when the tax-paying segment is extrapolated.

The next step will see the outsourcing of tax collection services to private facilities in addition to the online payment in order to make it more accessible to Jamaicans.

"We hope it will occur sometime next financial year," said Haughton.  "Certain things have to be done such as legislation and to make sure that the service does not cost the tax payer any more to use than walking into an office."

Paymaster and Bill Express - the two major third-party bill payment centres - and major banks are among those to have submitted tenders to offer these services.

In March this year, Deika Morrison, state minister at the Ministry of Finance, said the online payout was being driven by cost-benefit analysis.  Of those taxes which will be put online, she said, they account for one-half of all payment transactions at collectorates, but only seven per cent or $6.3 billion of total revenue.

This is part of the e-government programme which cost US$21 million and was funded primarily by US$17 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank, with government contributing an additional US$3.7 million.

Under phase three, the government plans to establish 60 payment telecentres across the island, focussing on medium-sized communities.

The fourth component will train students pursuing information technology programmes.  The project is slated to finish in fiscal year 2008/09.

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