Above: Kingston

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Jamaican Senator Floyd Morris is proposing a nearly 5 percent tax on all remittances entering the island as an additional funding source for education.

“This is likely to yield $100 million or J$9 billion,” he said. “The proceeds must be used to fund educational activities being implemented by the National Education Trust.”

The proceeds from the tax would go toward financing physical infrastructure improvements and expansion of activities, providing cash for the Students’ Loan Bureau.

They would also finance the administrative expenses of the NET, which works with the private sector and NGOs to raise funds for the development of educational infrastructure.

Because the tax would target members of Jamaica’s diaspora, he said chairman of the fund should be selected from Jamaica’s overseas community.

“It is my belief that if we can put in place this mechanism, we would be well on our way to solving the age-old problem of funding for education,” he said.

Remittances to Jamaica totaled almost $2 billion last year.