Shadow Minister of Finance Julian Robinson, Tuesday night, defended the People’s National Party’s bold economic agenda during the 2025 General Election Debate on the Economy.

Central to that agenda is a proposal to raise the income tax threshold to $3.5 million by April 2026—a move he assured would come without the introduction of any new taxes.

“We are committed to implementing the 3.5 threshold starting in April 2026,” said Robinson, outlining the PNP’s vision for a more equitable economy. “This will be funded from revenue growth, which, currently based on the one per cent growth, is projected to generate an additional $140 billion over a three-year period.”

The plan marks one of the most ambitious income tax reforms proposed in recent memory and is expected to significantly reduce the tax burden on low to middle-income earners.

In responding to how the threshold adjustment would be funded without causing a significant increase in the government’s budget deficit, Robinson emphasised that the PNP would remain firmly within the boundaries of the existing budget structure.

“We expect [to fund this] within the envelope that exists in the budget,” Robinson stated, listing the four key components of the national budget. “You have debt servicing. You have salaries and wages. You have the capital budget, and then you have the programmatic budget.”

Robinson explained that the party’s approach would focus on adjusting the programmatic budget to reflect the PNP’s priorities. “As a political party, we would have our own priorities, and we will look at the programmatic budget and make adjustments there,” he said.

In addition to long-term tax relief, the shadow minister committed to fast-tracking several targeted social programmes that he said would be rolled out immediately upon the PNP assuming office—all within the current fiscal envelope.

Among the initiatives:

• Daily hot meals for every child in need.
• Full scholarships for first-generation university students.
• A $500,000 housing grant for young first-time homeowners.

However, Minister of Finance Fayval Williams of the Jamaica Labour Party dismissed the opposition’s income tax threshold proposal as fiscally irresponsible and misleading, asserting that the plan is simply not feasible without new taxes being imposed.

“Lies, lies, lies. It cannot be done without imposing new taxes on the backs of Jamaicans. Your 3.5 is the biggest political scam in the history of Jamaica. It cannot be done. You are the people who said when we introduced the 1.5 that it couldn’t be done, it would wreck the budget. How do you get from 1.5 to 3.5? she said.

Robinson was resolute in his party’s commitment to be fiscally responsible. “We are going to ensure that we do this in a responsible way fiscally, without affecting the budget,” he said.

He further revealed that the cost of the proposed increase in the threshold would be $55 billion, while revealing the programmes that will be adjusted to accommodate this increase. “Now, no political party implements every single thing in one year. So we are gonna ensure that the implementation is done, which protects the fiscal sacrifices that have been made and will ensure that the adjustments are consistent with the budget. So it’s $55 billion that this particular programme will cost.

“And in terms of the readjustment of programmes, that is something that we will do once we get into office. We have priorities which are different from the current government’s priorities, and we will make those adjustments within the envelope of $360 billion, which currently exists for programmes in the budget,” he continued.