AUDLEY Shaw, the finance and public service minister, says the Government is considering special tax credits for first-time homeowners.

Shaw said the tax credits would aim at encouraging more investments in home ownership and could be included in tax reform measures being studied by the administration, now in power for four months.

The minister was speaking in the House of Representatives last Tuesday, as the legislature debated a bill amending the Income Tax Act to make it conform with the provisions of Pensions (Superannuation Funds and Retirement Schemes) Act. The amendments will ensure that retirement schemes for self-employed persons, and employees who are not members of approved superannuation funds, can make contributions to supplement the benefits payable under the National Insurance Scheme (NIS).

In response to a question from Opposition MP Fitz Jackson, the minister informed the House that regulations were being prepared relating to the second phase of the pension reform programmes, which includes portability and vesting rights.

“These regulations will complete the process. As I have indicated, the amendments pertaining to portability, vesting rights and locking all of those have been looked at by Cabinet and passed to the chief parliamentary counsel for additional work to be done. So, work is in fact well under way,” he said.

Among the benefits of the newly passed amendments are: Income tax relief in terms of contributions to an approved retirement scheme; removal of the limit of $120,000 for lump sum payments; increasing monetary benefits to more realistic levels, allowing for the post-retirement benefit of an employee to be increased by the employer, provided that the increase does not exceed annual changes in the Consumer Price Index; and providing for appeals against the decision of the commissioner of income tax relating to the approval of a fund or scheme.