KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Finance Minister, Fayval Williams, has confirmed that new taxes will form part of the government’s 2026/2027 budget. The minister says the taxes are necessary to address the massive fiscal fallout from Hurricane Melissa and safeguard Jamaica’s hard-won economic stability.
It will be the first time in 10 years that the Holness government has introduced new taxes on the Jamaican people.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mrs. Williams said the administration faces an estimated US$8.8 billion in damage from the hurricane, which is equivalent to roughly 41 per cent of Jamaica’s gross domestic product (GDP).
This is confirmed by the Independent Fiscal Commission’s January Economic and Fiscal Assessment Report.
She warned that the scale of the destruction caused by Melissa, combined with a slowdown in economic activity in several sectors, has reduced government revenues and created a fiscal gap that cannot be ignored.
“As a responsible government, we must now take measured steps to close that gap. That will include new revenue measures,” Williams said.
The Finance Minister sought to reassure the public that equity will guide the design of the new measures.
“We are reviewing anomalies in the tax system and ensuring that the burden is shared fairly. The most vulnerable will be protected,” she said, adding that the measures will be “calibrated, balanced, and sensitive” to the realities facing households and businesses.
She also framed the upcoming budget as a balancing act between recovery spending and fiscal prudence. She noted that the Holness administration must continue funding core services and infrastructure repairs, including roads and bridges, schools, hospitals, and support for farmers and small businesses, even as it responds to hurricane-related rebuilding.
She made clear that the government intends to avoid a return to the high-debt era that once stifled Jamaica’s development.
“We have lived through the debt trap before, decades of high debt, high interest payments, and limited fiscal space,” she said. She added that the country’s recent progress in reducing debt and restoring international credibility will not be “recklessly undone.”
Williams indicated that any new borrowing will be targeted toward capital investments to strengthen resilience and expand productive capacity, including infrastructure, agriculture, logistics, and digital systems. Recurrent expenses, she said, should be financed primarily through taxation.
She also positioned the coming budget as a generational decision point, arguing that the policy choices now will determine whether Jamaica’s children inherit a country burdened by unsustainable debt or one strengthened by resilience and fiscal discipline.
“This is about rebuilding not just for today, but for tomorrow,” Williams said.
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