TAXES on CDs and other sound recordings in Jamaica ranked fifth highest in the region, according to International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) statistics, which at least one stakeholder said contributed to the silencing of local music.
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Jamaica, compared with 12 regional territories, was higher than seven, including the USA, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay and Venezuela, according to the IFPI in its tax statistics updated in May. Jamaica's tax on recording is 16.5 per cent, and countries with higher taxes included Argentina at 21 per cent, Brazil, between 15 to 18 per cent, Chile at 19 per cent and Peru at 19 per cent. The countries with the lowest taxes included the US, with a range between zero to 10.25 per cent and Canada at 5.0 per cent. The IFPI represents the recording industry worldwide with some 1400 members in 66 countries and affiliated industry associations in 45 countries.
The elimination of general Consumption Tax (GCT) in Jamaica on music and related services would be a fillip for the ailing music industry, argued veteran singer and record producer Derrick Harriott.
"To boost the music business, I think they should eliminate completely the GCT or make it very small, to affect people," stated Harriott, who is also principal of Derrick Harriott's One Stop Records & Video, a fixture at the Twin Gates Plaza in St Andrew since 1973. "In all it would work out better cause they would buy more quantity."
The Observer yesterday tried unsuccessfully to get a comment from the Ministry of Culture.
Source: Jamaica Observer
