Rebuilding after devastation – PwC policy initiatives to drive recovery
Published:Sunday | November 23, 2025 | 12:33 PM
When Hurricane Melissa struck New Hope in Westmoreland with Category Five winds, it left devastation – and with it the livelihoods of residents.
The storm destroyed homes, businesses, and infrastructure, leaving the country facing a long road to recovery. PwC Jamaica Tax Partner Kimblian Baston argues that rebuilding will require more than disaster financing and donations. She recommends a suite of fiscal and policy tools to stimulate recovery, including grants to restore public infrastructure and agriculture, low interest loans for small businesses and homeowners without insurance, and targeted tax incentives.
The PWC Tax partner says rebuilding will take time, resources, strategic planning and a combination of initiatives to stimulate socio-economic recovery.
Batson feels that existing legislation, such as that governing the tax depreciation of assets used in business (capital allowance), charitable donations and tax credits can also be used or expanded temporarily to support affected businesses and individuals. She also points to the Urban Renewal Act as a framework for designating disaster-hit areas, allowing credits against income tax for rebuilding expenditure.
Other measures she suggests include extending timelines for accelerated capital allowances to help businesses retool, raising limits on tax deductible charitable donations to encourage giving, and implementing a nationwide Donate as You Earn payroll scheme to channel regular contributions to registered charities. Baston also proposes issuing a long-term Rise Up Jamaica development bond at concessional rates, marketed internationally and to the diaspora. Tax deductions for uninsured casualty losses and special credits for retirees on fixed incomes could further ease the burden on individuals.
Baston cautions that while tax incentives can accelerate redevelopment, they must be balanced against Jamaica’s fiscal stability. “The gains have been hard won and should not be easily surrendered. Any relief must be carefully evaluated within wider budgetary constraints,” she says.
Preliminary estimates from rating agency Moody’s and think tank, Enki Research, put total losses between US$7.7 billion and US$20 billion, nearly equal to Jamaica’s 2024 total output or GDP. Insured losses are projected up to US$5 billion, reflecting the gap between coverage and actual need. Batson postulates that most damaged properties in the rural areas of Jamaica do not have the benefit of insurance coverage to assist in defraying the cost of rebuilding efforts. She said grants to certain segments of the population will be vital.
“The most vulnerable subset of affected individuals are children and the elderly; some of whom have lost a lifetime of belongings with no foreseeable means of restoration. Targeted grants made available to families with children, as well as the elderly, may be considered to assist with addressing the immediate needs of food and shelter,” she says.
Batson says low-interest loans may be made available to small business operators and homeowners affected by physical damage to property caused by the hurricane, to assist with the repair or replacement of damaged property.
“This can be achieved through a fund set up for this purpose, with criteria established on a needs assessment basis, targeted at persons not benefiting from insurance or other reimbursements,” Batson prescribes.
Batson is urging the use of tax incentives. At the same time, she acknowledges that its use to stimulate redevelopment is a sensitive topic, given the strides that Jamaica has made in reducing reliance on sectoral incentives to stimulate economic development. Batson recognises that the collective efforts by successive governments and the public, in reducing the country’s debt load and in balancing the fiscal budget, must be considered.
“The gains have been hard won and should not be easily surrendered. Therefore, the provision of any tax incentive or relief should be carefully evaluated and balanced within the context of wider budgetary constraints,” she says.
For Baston, the devastation wrought by Hurricane Melissa demands creative solutions. “There has never been a more important time for us as a nation to step up and be our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper,” she concludes.