According to figures available up to April 2007, customs duties collected online amounted to $577.6 million compared to a small $10.3 million collected in April 2003.
But the just under $600 million collected up to April 2007 represented 11.9 per cent of the total duties collected during April this year, and the $1.9 billion in customs duties paid over the Internet between April and June this year represented an even smaller proportion of the total - 11.3 per cent.
This is part of the reason why the government has launched a public education programme for the e-Transaction Act which will provide the legal and operational framework for local business transactions done through the Internet.
"There are myriad of opportunities for the private sector and civil society. these services include e-banking, e-agriculture, e-security, e-learning, e-health and e-tourism services," said Clive Mullings, Minister of Energy, Mining and Telecommunications at the launch.
The new Act, designed to protect consumers doing business online, was passed in Parliament and came into effect April 2007.
"All the other government entities that offer e-services have had similar experience with the rapid increase in the number of persons transacting business online," he added.
He added that payments through the Internet would be extended to include seven statutory deductions, including corporate and self-employment tax, NIS, Heart Trust, General Consumption Tax (GCT), Special Consumption Tax, Education Tax and PAYE.
But in admitting that the level of islandwide computer penetration was low, Mullings said that his ministry plans to establish Community Access Points (CAPs) - multi-purpose telecentres - in under-served communities where users could connect with the Internet free of cost.
This, he said, will be implemented through a combination of private sector and government initiatives. "Over the past weeks I have had discussions with the telecommunications operators who have committed to providing free Internet access at these community access points," Mullings said.
"We are also heartened by the numerous complementary initiatives supported by the private sector and the donor/lender community."
The ministry's e-Transaction Act public education programme, which includes mass media and regional meetings, will continue until January 2008.
Autor(en)/Author(s): Patrick Foster
Quelle/Source: The Jamaica Observer, 24.10.2007
