Disability community in Jamaica upset that government will impose tax on essential items used by people with disabilities

From The Gleaner to Jamaica:

Members of the disabled community are both outraged and saddened by the recent decision by the Government to impose general consumption tax (GCT) on essential items used by persons with disabilities.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding last week announced that canes for the blind, artificial limbs, hearing aids and crutches designed for use by the handicapped are some of the items that would no longer be exempted from taxation.

The new regime comes into effect January 1.

Gloria Goffe, executive director of the Combined Disabilities Association, said this would undoubtedly have a devastating effect on members of the disabled community, forcing many even deeper into poverty.

She said the demand for most of the items (on the tax list) was significant and many disabled persons would not be able to afford them.

"And if there is going to be tax on them (prostheses), the disabled community is going to be gravely affected," she said. "Considering that most of them live below or just on the poverty line, it is just going to push them further down into the degradation that many of them live in," Goffe added.

An artificial leg can cost at minimum about $150,000 without GCT.

Virginia Woods, executive director of the Jamaica Society for the Blind, said she would no doubt be writing to the prime minister asking him to roll back the tax measures.

"What message are you sending to the blind of this country?" she questioned. "It just can't work, and it won't work."

There are about 23,000 blind people living in Jamaica.

Woods said the organisation and its members were shocked and disappointed at the action of the prime minister, especially when taking into consideration the absolute necessity of the instrument.

"A white cane is something that we use on a daily basis. You will have a brand-new white cane today, and tomorrow you don't have it, because motorists run over it all the time," she said.

Woods, who uses a cane herself, said the blind person had no guarantee as to how many canes he or she would go through for the year because they are often damaged on the roads.

She said the organisation often provides canes for free to visually impaired persons who are unable to buy their own, and the new tax regime would only prove an added burden on the organisation, which she said was struggling to stay afloat.

She said this could mean that the organisation might have to start charging a small fee for canes, which it does not want to do because many blind people are struggling to make ends meet.

A white cane could cost anywhere from US$30-US$36 (J$2,700-J$3,240).

"We can't turn away a person who needs a cane. It's just not possible, because you telling the blind man to go and walk in the road," Woods lamented.

Woods further said that the canes were not available locally and had to be sourced overseas.

"Most things that blind people use are not provided in Jamaica; all our aids and appliances are from overseas," she said.

"If you tax white canes, when we buy it from overseas we have to pay extra money, and when it comes to Jamaica, you going to tax it. It's a lot of money," Woods added.