Property Tax in Trinidad & Tobago

[wing]

Went this morning in San Fernando to pay my property tax. The staff were very helpful and polite and managed the crowd in a professional manner. There were 3 cashiers, ensuring a smooth flow. Of course there were persons who resembled UNC supporters that were annoying everyone with their complaining and veiled racist comments. Never mind they were there since 7am to pay the tax. I'm not surprised though, just like the typical UNC supporter, spineless, complainers, impolite to staff, racist, but first in line to fall in line.

Describe what resembles a unc supporter please.

Ask the other posters on this forum who could identify what a Rowley, Hinds or PNM voter looks like.

[fokhan_96]

So I still haven't received anything in the mail. I've been hearing a lot of conflicting information regarding those who haven't received their evaluation yet.
Some saying just wait and you will get it eventually...
Some saying you need to resubmit everything as you did before including original documents...
Some saying you can request for a print out of your evaluation because everything is on their system even though you didn't received anything yet...
So my question... anyone know anything concrete as to the way forward from here?

Go to the office with your ID card and find out

Why?
I am not legally obligated go. After submitting your information, your instruction thereafter was to "wait for your valuation assessment in your mail". There is nothing stated anywhere that after a certain date or time if you haven't received anything in the mail you must then proceed to the valuation office.

[zoom rader]

Went this morning in San Fernando to pay my property tax. The staff were very helpful and polite and managed the crowd in a professional manner. There were 3 cashiers, ensuring a smooth flow. Of course there were persons who resembled UNC supporters that were annoying everyone with their complaining and veiled racist comments. Never mind they were there since 7am to pay the tax. I'm not surprised though, just like the typical UNC supporter, spineless, complainers, impolite to staff, racist, but first in line to fall in line.

Describe what resembles a unc supporter please.

Ask the other posters on this forum who could identify what a Rowley, Hinds or PNM voter looks like.

U coward piece of

Answer the poster question

[adnj]

So I still haven't received anything in the mail. I've been hearing a lot of conflicting information regarding those who haven't received their evaluation yet.
Some saying just wait and you will get it eventually...
Some saying you need to resubmit everything as you did before including original documents...
Some saying you can request for a print out of your evaluation because everything is on their system even though you didn't received anything yet...
So my question... anyone know anything concrete as to the way forward from here?

Go to the office with your ID card and find out

Why?
I am not legally obligated go. After submitting your information, your instruction thereafter was to "wait for your valuation assessment in your mail". There is nothing stated anywhere that after a certain date or time if you haven't received anything in the mail you must then proceed to the valuation office.

The legislation states that the notice must be mailed on or before July 31. Legislation further states that residents are "deemed to have been served" by August 15, etc.

You have until September 30 to pay without incurring a late payment penalty.

[AlphaMan]

$3974

What we doing? Paying or querying.
My assessment is at $3300 while everyone else is around $500.00

Also
"A Venezuelan who went to pay on behalf of two other people said she had heard about the confusion over the radio. She had an issue with getting information on the value of her property."
https://newsday.co.tt/2024/09/10/as-september-30-deadline-approaches-confusion-over-property-tax-queries/
Venezuelans own property in Trinidad now?

[zoom rader]

$3974

What we doing? Paying or querying.
My assessment is at $3300 while everyone else is around $500.00

Also
"A Venezuelan who went to pay on behalf of two other people said she had heard about the confusion over the radio. She had an issue with getting information on the value of her property."
https://newsday.co.tt/2024/09/10/as-september-30-deadline-approaches-confusion-over-property-tax-queries/
Venezuelans own property in Trinidad now?

Use ur vote wisely next time

[VexXx Dogg]

$3974

What we doing? Paying or querying.
My assessment is at $3300 while everyone else is around $500.00

Also
"A Venezuelan who went to pay on behalf of two other people said she had heard about the confusion over the radio. She had an issue with getting information on the value of her property."
https://newsday.co.tt/2024/09/10/as-september-30-deadline-approaches-confusion-over-property-tax-queries/
Venezuelans own property in Trinidad now?

Yes.

Generally, the Foreign Investment Act (sections 6 & 7) allows foreign investors in Trinidad (including individuals and companies) to purchase without a foreign investment licence:

up to one (1) acre of land for residential purposes; and
up to five (5) acres for commercial purposes.


In addition, a foreign investor may do the following without a foreign investment licence:

incorporate a private company in Trinidad and Tobago to hold the real estate; or
acquire all the shares in a private company incorporated in Trinidad and Tobago where the sole asset that the private company owns is real estate once such real estate does not exceed the limit set out above.

Source: https://trinidadlaw.com/real-estate/

You're aware that the entire band of the socio-economic strata came across, right? Some illegally, some legally.

From those in poverty to those rolling in dough like is a kiss factory.

[fokhan_96]

So I still haven't received anything in the mail. I've been hearing a lot of conflicting information regarding those who haven't received their evaluation yet.
Some saying just wait and you will get it eventually...
Some saying you need to resubmit everything as you did before including original documents...
Some saying you can request for a print out of your evaluation because everything is on their system even though you didn't received anything yet...
So my question... anyone know anything concrete as to the way forward from here?

Go to the office with your ID card and find out

Why?
I am not legally obligated go. After submitting your information, your instruction thereafter was to "wait for your valuation assessment in your mail". There is nothing stated anywhere that after a certain date or time if you haven't received anything in the mail you must then proceed to the valuation office.

The legislation states that the notice must be mailed on or before July 31. Legislation further states that residents are "deemed to have been served" by August 15, etc.

You have until September 30 to pay without incurring a late payment penalty.

I haven't been served sir. I have received nothing in the mail even though my neighbors have received theirs so it has nothing to do with the post service. I also did my due diligence and called the valuation office @ 612-1715 ext 8483, 8484 (chaguanas office) between the hours of 8am to 9am yesterday. I called three times and the phone kept ringing and no one answered. I waited more than a minute before hanging up (which is a reasonable length of time to wait). This can be easily confirmed from my phone records. My next step is to send an email (which I know would not be replied to) to again prove that I did try to reach out to the valuation division but was unsuccessful.

[Chimera]

Doh study dem bai. Amnesty soon come

[adnj]

So I still haven't received anything in the mail. I've been hearing a lot of conflicting information regarding those who haven't received their evaluation yet.
Some saying just wait and you will get it eventually...
Some saying you need to resubmit everything as you did before including original documents...
Some saying you can request for a print out of your evaluation because everything is on their system even though you didn't received anything yet...
So my question... anyone know anything concrete as to the way forward from here?

Go to the office with your ID card and find out

Why?
I am not legally obligated go. After submitting your information, your instruction thereafter was to "wait for your valuation assessment in your mail". There is nothing stated anywhere that after a certain date or time if you haven't received anything in the mail you must then proceed to the valuation office.

The legislation states that the notice must be mailed on or before July 31. Legislation further states that residents are "deemed to have been served" by August 15, etc.

You have until September 30 to pay without incurring a late payment penalty.

I haven't been served sir. I have received nothing in the mail even though my neighbors have received theirs so it has nothing to do with the post service. I also did my due diligence and called the valuation office @ 612-1715 ext 8483, 8484 (chaguanas office) between the hours of 8am to 9am yesterday. I called three times and the phone kept ringing and no one answered. I waited more than a minute before hanging up (which is a reasonable length of time to wait). This can be easily confirmed from my phone records. My next step is to send an email (which I know would not be replied to) to again prove that I did try to reach out to the valuation division but was unsuccessful.

It's now your burden to prove that you were not served. Good luck.

[pugboy]

weren’t they sent via registered ttpost?
if there is no signed receipt then you haven’t been served

[adnj]

weren’t they sent via registered ttpost?
if there is no signed receipt then you haven’t been served

Section 13 of the amended Valuation of Land Act substitutes the typical requirement of registered mail with "[proof] that the letter containing the notice was properly addressed and posted."

[The_Honourable]

As September 30 deadline approaches...Confusion over property tax queries

WHILE some people say the process of paying the property tax was smooth and the cost reasonable, others are hoping for an extension as they complained of confusion over queries.

The deadline for payment of the property tax is September 30.

On September 9, Newsday went to Government Plaza on Wrightson Road, where several people had issues, including mix-ups in valuation forms and querying the values of their properties.

Inside, people were going to pay property tax and run other errands, including payments for ID cards, CXC exams, etc.

No one was lined up outside the building but some people ­– fewer than ten – were being ushered through security checks to go to their respective departments.

“To pay it is easy, but if you are making a query, it is disorganised,” said one elderly woman from Maraval, who did not want to be named.

She said she was querying her valuation, which was more than $2,000.

“The value of the property was too high,” she said.

“I queried it the first time they sent the valuation. They said if I object, I have to go to the Valuation Division in Barataria. I am not satisfied with the amount, but they said you have to pay, so I went to pay and then query after because I don’t want them to add no tax.”

One woman from Diego Martin said she had not gotten her valuation form.

“I don’t know anything about it,” said Corinne Gomez. “I hope they give an extension.”

A Venezuelan who went to pay on behalf of two other people said she had heard about the confusion over the radio. She had an issue with getting information on the value of her property.

“I heard this morning people were not getting their papers,” she said.

“I went to TTPost to get the notice. I got the first letter, but I didn’t get the valuation. They sent me to Barataria. In Barataria, they told me verbally what I had to pay.”

Traci-Ann Nichols said the process was smooth but she did not get to pay because she had two forms with two different PINs and two different values for her Diego Martin property.

“When they did the assessment (of the value of her property), that piece of paper was carrying one PIN, and what they sent for me with the value, with the yearly instalments, it was carrying a different PIN. They had different prices: one was carrying more than $900 and the other was carrying over $400. Same name, different PINs, different price.”

She was told to go to the Valuation Division in Barataria, like many others.

“It could be a mix-up, I don’t know, but I am going up there,” she said.

At the Board of Inland Revenue office on Cipero Street, San Fernando, Newsday reporters saw about 30 people lined up outside the office building. They said they had been lined up for about half an hour.

Herman Constance from Aranguez spoke to Newsday at Government Plaza, saying he had paid his property tax and was helping two other people pay theirs.

“I would pay taxes quarterly, so I understand the process,” he said.

“A couple of my clients put me on to some people who wanted to pay their property tax so they will give me the relevant documents and I will help them.”

He said the process was straightforward and he had no objection to the amount.

“For me, it wasn’t even $600, and that was for the whole year,” he said.

Virginia Miguel from Valencia said she had no problems with paying the tax.

“All over the world, you have to pay tax on everything,” she said.

“If the country has to run, it must run on something. When you go abroad and you see the quality of life people live over there, it is because they pay taxes.

“I felt good about paying it. I felt it was reasonable.”

About the tax

Property tax, in its earlier incarnation as land and building tax, has a long history in TT, being a feature of colonial and post-independence revenue collection as a source of funding for local government.

It served as a significant resource in the 1970s during TT's first oil boom.

In 2009, the People's National Movement (PNM) introduced and passed the Property Tax Act but in 2010, the opposition launched a campaign against it, the popular Axe the Tax campaign, started by the Congress of the People (COP) and then taken up by the United National Congress (UNC) during their tenure from 2010-2015.

When the PNM returned to office, it announced plans to introduce a revised property tax based on updated property valuations. Its attempts in 2018 were met with public resistance and legal challenges.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert announced plans in 2021 to begin collecting the tax the next year, noting that the last valuation of properties was in 1948.

He said property owners had been paying far less than the appropriate amount.

The property tax is calculated at two per cent of the annual rental value of the property, amended from three per cent on March 15. The valuation is based on the classification of land, whether agricultural, residential, commercial or industrial, the classification of the building, the dimensions and modifications.

https://newsday.co.tt/2024/09/10/as-sep ... x-queries/

[fokhan_96]

weren’t they sent via registered ttpost?
if there is no signed receipt then you haven’t been served

Section 13 of the amended Valuation of Land Act substitutes the typical requirement of registered mail with "[proof] that the letter containing the notice was properly addressed and posted."

So you trying to say that we have to trust government workers to properly type the correct addresses on mails, just like how they type the correct chassis no. and engine no. on your certified copy ?
Well crapoud smoke my pipe.

[88sins]

$3974

What we doing? Paying or querying.

The wife take she fassness and send in that ish, against my instructions to the opposite, so, as a result, she hadda pay it.

[zoom rader]

Quick question

Is Forrest land included in this time around for house tax or this for a later date ?

[trinigamer]

Where is the quickest office to pay?

The Grande revenue office have people line up outside the door. Apparently you have to see someone first and then go to the cashier, don't see why it has to take too long just to receive a payment.

[dredman1]

As September 30 deadline approaches...Confusion over property tax queries

Traci-Ann Nichols said the process was smooth but she did not get to pay because she had two forms with two different PINs and two different values for her Diego Martin property.

“When they did the assessment (of the value of her property), that piece of paper was carrying one PIN, and what they sent for me with the value, with the yearly instalments, it was carrying a different PIN. They had different prices: one was carrying more than $900 and the other was carrying over $400. Same name, different PINs, different price.”

She was told to go to the Valuation Division in Barataria, like many others.

“It could be a mix-up, I don’t know, but I am going up there,” she said.

https://newsday.co.tt/2024/09/10/as-sep ... x-queries/

I got my first assessment dated 24 Jun 2024, and then my second assessment dated 12 Aug 2024. The second one was a lower amount than the first (presumably due to the reduction in the rate from 3% to 2%). However, both forms have different PINs.

Anyone else experienced this as well? Was it an issue when you went to pay, even if you just present the assessment with the lower amount when you go (and make no mention of the PIN being different to the first)?

[The_Honourable]

Quick question

Is Forrest land included in this time around for house tax or this for a later date ?

If is just land alone, not included this rounds. If there is a house on it, yes you have to pay house tax.

As September 30 deadline approaches...Confusion over property tax queries

Traci-Ann Nichols said the process was smooth but she did not get to pay because she had two forms with two different PINs and two different values for her Diego Martin property.

“When they did the assessment (of the value of her property), that piece of paper was carrying one PIN, and what they sent for me with the value, with the yearly instalments, it was carrying a different PIN. They had different prices: one was carrying more than $900 and the other was carrying over $400. Same name, different PINs, different price.”

She was told to go to the Valuation Division in Barataria, like many others.

“It could be a mix-up, I don’t know, but I am going up there,” she said.

https://newsday.co.tt/2024/09/10/as-sep ... x-queries/

I got my first assessment dated 24 Jun 2024, and then my second assessment dated 12 Aug 2024. The second one was a lower amount than the first (presumably due to the reduction in the rate from 3% to 2%). However, both forms have different PINs.

Anyone else experienced this as well? Was it an issue when you went to pay, even if you just present the assessment with the lower amount when you go (and make no mention of the PIN being different to the first)?

Go valuations office to do the fix

[fokhan_96]

What about houses close to uwi that have multiple small apartments charging $2500 a month each. You can't classify this as commercial as the home owners just doing this as their side hustle and not paying any taxes on their rental income.

[adnj]

What about houses close to uwi that have multiple small apartments charging $2500 a month each. You can't classify this as commercial as the home owners just doing this as their side hustle and not paying any taxes on their rental income.

Commercial real estate in Trinidad includes properties that have five or more residential units.

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

Paid mine today in Chaguanas.
Had about 15 ppl in front of me but it went super quick - was in and out of there in about 20 mins.
They only take exact cash or cheque - no Linx or credit card

[AlphaMan]

Paid mine today in Chaguanas.
Had about 15 ppl in front of me but it went super quick - was in and out of there in about 20 mins.
They only take exact cash or cheque - no Linx or credit card

You mind mentioning how much you paid?
My assessment is$3300

[shake d livin wake d dead]

Paid mine today in Chaguanas.
Had about 15 ppl in front of me but it went super quick - was in and out of there in about 20 mins.
They only take exact cash or cheque - no Linx or credit card

You mind mentioning how much you paid?
My assessment is$3300

What area fetching these prices?

[88sins]

It ain't just about the location bro

[neilsingh100]

Everyone that paid so far got an assessment notice? Can someone pay with the appraisal notice?

[Dave]

Afaik the assessment has the Letter ID code that they need to allocate your payment. Does your appraisal have a Lxxxxxx code on it?

[neilsingh100]

The identifier on the Notice of Valuation is a 10 digit number.

[demented]

Finding out for a colleague: "I filled out the property tax form in 2021 when my land had no building on it. I never got a call or email afterwards. I started construction but not completed to date. Do I have to fill a new assessment form or how do I modify my existing one?"

[bluefete]

My assessment is$3300

$3974

Allyuh living in some mansions or in some stush areas.