NHT funds not used to support income tax threshold - Holness

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, has denied that resources from the National Housing Trust (NHT) have been used for budgetary support due to the government's commitment to increase the income tax threshold.
  
Mr. Holness was again asked to respond to the issue at a news conference on Wednesday morning.
  
He said the funds are necessary for the preservation of the economy  based on the new arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
  
Mr. Holness, in further explaining why the government took funds from the NHT, gave support to the PNP government's decision in 2013 to take a $45.6 billion drawdown over four years.                  
    
"When the previous government committed to 7.5% GDP per year to repay the principal portion of debt, that was a necessary commitment. Otherwise, our debt would have continued to spiral out of control and eventually we would have become insolvent and be brought to the brink of collapse," he argued.

About-turn 

Mr. Holness explained what appears to be an about-turn by his government which had criticised the PNP administration.

"When we threatened to carry this matter to court, when we looked at the situation and when members of the private sector and people who represented the government of the day came to see me privately and said 'listen this situation is a serious situation,' we had to take the interest of the country at heart, we had to balance. So as the opposition leader at the time, I acted responsible and I didn't bother to go through with a challenge to it," the prime minister insisted.