I was disappointed with the headline 'Jamaicans shun online tax payments: but authorities press ahead with e-payroll deductions' and the story appearing in The Sunday Gleaner, November 1.

The article had a number of misleading and inaccurate statements.

1. The article starts off by stating that a five-year attempt by the Tax Administration to offer electronic facilities has failed to engage taxpayers.

Although we admit that the usage has been low, it was explained that, in addition to the requirement for users to have a credit card, only limited tax types payments were offered via the online facility when introduced in 2004.

We have seen some growth since the passage of the E-Transaction Act and the subsequent introduction of online filing of GCT in 2008.

We also expect to see further growth with the introduction of the option for electronically paying and declaring payroll deductions.

2. In reference to the cost to operate the system, I did, in fact, say that she was not able to give a dollar figure for the investment. It is therefore inaccurate to say that the cost to operate the online system was about 2.4 cents per dollar of e-transaction spend. In fact, the statistic for 2.4 cents was in relation to the overall cost of collections from all sources.

3. The reference by Viralee Latibeaudiere to a recent survey, stating that persons preferred doing walk-in business than online, was not quoted in full, as she also mentioned that, numbered among the persons surveyed, were persons who actually used the online system, but had expressed a preference for walk-in, based on culture.

4. For the 2008-2009 period, there was $1.2 billion worth of e-transactions and not the $1.2 million quoted in the article.

5. Payroll deductions, which will be accommodated online are PAYE (income tax), NIS, HEART and Education Tax.

This negative portrayal of the attempts by the Tax Administration to make it easier for persons to pay taxes is counter productive and gives the impression that Jamaicans are not deserving of alternate options to pay their taxes or that the Tax Administration is wasting resources to expand the service.

The timing of this report may have a negative impact on our introducing an electronic option for payroll deductions.

Meris Haughton

Director, Communication (Acting)

Tax Administration Services Department

tasdpr@cwjamaica.com