THE EDITOR, Sir: I am a small Jamaican business owner and I want to express my frustra-tion with the rash of Chinese businesses that have taken over Jamaica.
Chinese business people who come to Jamaica to invest, get tax-free status for five years, and I imagine that after this time, they would be required to pay taxes like Jamaican nationals operating businesses here. Instead, what seems to happening after these five years is that they are allowed to bring in another family member from China, change the business name and proceed to operate the same business at the same location.
I would like to know whether these businesses are being monitored and tracked, and who, if anyone, is responsible for doing this tracking. Why are so many of these businesses that are operated by the latest wave of Chinese immigrants being left to simply change their names after five years and flout the rules of the land?
Another problem is that these specially treated class of business people do not speak English, but they give advice on the application rate of unfamiliar chemicals and pesticides labelled in Chinese, to customers.
FOREIGN INVESTORS
I cannot compete with so-called ‘foreign Chinese investors’ who get away with paying no taxes when I have to pay taxes. I cannot compete because I employ only Jamaican workers in my business, but I do not get a five-year tax break. I am sure that GCT payments are required from ALL businesses operating in Jamaica, but I have been observing that products that attract GCT are not being so charged at Chinese owned establishments. I know this because it would be impossible to sell goods at the prices the Chinese charge.
So, I repeat, where is the monitoring agency for the practices of the Chinese business community? Surely, the Consumer Affairs Commission has a role to play if customers don’t get detailed bills for purchased goods.
It would be interesting to know whether government is going to stand idly by and allow more genuine Jamaican small businesses to close their doors out of frustration and unfair competition.
Concerned Business Owner
nefertitijewel@hotmail.com
JFF presidential poll a big deal!
THE EDITOR, Sir: For many years, our football programme consisted mainly of local competitions and a few international matches.
In 1994, the late Captain Horace Burrell became president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF). Burrell, a man with big ideas, took Jamaica’s Reggae Boys to the finals of the World Cup in 1998 – a first for any English-speaking Caribbean nation.
Today, football is the world’s most popular game. The top three clubs value well in excess of US$3.5 billion. FIFA is the organisation that is in charge. FIFA’s monetary influence is felt everywhere in the world. Its 209 members are located through grants and bonuses stemming from profits linked to the World Cup. FIFA is a multibillion-dollar corporation.
When Brazil hosted the most recent World Cup, it was estimated that the economic impact could range from US$3 billion to US$14 billion. The tournament might have added nearly US$30 billion to that country’s GDP between 2010 and 2014, generating 3.63 million jobs – annually – during that period and raising an additional US$8 billion in tax revenues.
I say all that to say this: We are talking about a big, sophisticated business that is far more than some men kicking balls. Football skill alone is not going to get us where we are able to go in this sport. The head of this organisation will, from time to time, be required to navigate a variety of economic, strategic, cultural, racial, and ideological currents. He will need, to make presentations to grant-making bodies and participate in the resolution of political and ethical issues.
Two critical prerequisites, therefore, are a clarity and comfort with legal matters and experience in diplomacy.
It is my hope that the envy and ‘bad’ mind that sometimes inform these events do not surface in making this important decision.
GLENN TUCKER
glenntucker2011@gmail.com