TAJ confirms more than $470 million spent to lease two unoccupied properties

By Kimone Witter    

 

Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) says to date it has spent $23 million to lease a property in Annotto Bay, St. Mary which is to be the site of its new office in the parish.

 

Work to refurbish the building, for occupation this year, is slated to begin next month.

 

Addressing Parliament's Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday, TAJ Commissioner General Ainsley Powell provided an update on two properties which were the subject of a special audit by the Auditor General's Department looking at the leasing arrangements. 

 

"We are at the point where we are going to start the process of putting the office in order for us to occupy, which is at a cost estimated at roughly $30 million. The expected start date is June 10th for that work, and we expect it to be completed within four months. We'll be putting in counters for the service areas, and we'll be doing structured cabling to facilitate the IC network. And so we are hoping that by the third quarter we should be in that space," he outlined. 

 

Moving to the location in Greenvale, Manchester, Mr. Powell said $451 million has been spent on lease arrangements.

 

He said the bidding process for the refurbishing works, which was restarted, will close on Wednesday. 

 

"A fair amount of work on a contract was done by the landlord, and they had put in elevators, bathrooms, flooring, etc. But finishing the work is going to be our main responsibility," he said, adding that the cost of retrofitting the space will be "somewhere close to a billion dollars". 

 

The estimated completion date for the Manchester office remains September 2025.

 

In March, the TAJ said the delay in occupying the two properties was due to the lengthy procurement process and the build-out required to make the spaces suitable for the delivery of tax services.