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zoom rader wrote:rfari wrote:Posting this again. From hansard
ZR. You questioned the rumours. Here it is. Kamala put property tax in motion unamended at the start of the yearLegal Supplement Part C to the “Trinidad and Tobago Gazette’’, Vol. 54, No. 3, 9th January, 2015 No. 1 of 2015
.....
PROPERTY TAX 23. The Property Tax Act, 2009 is amended by inserting after section 52, the following new section: “Waiver of taxes 52A. Notwithstanding any written law to the contrary, the payment of any tax under this Act shall be waived for the period 1st January, 2010 to 31st December, 2015.”.
http://www.ttparliament.org/legislations/b2015h01g.pdf
Yeah and?
it does not say House tax coming. Wey the new bill for house tax?
If it is then I have no problem contributing to a fairer tax system under PP.
Habit7 wrote:‘Property tax returns Jan 1’*
Published on Aug 23, 2015, 9:00 pm AST
By Ria Taitt
Political Editor
The crossing of swords between Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley and Finance Minister Larry Howai over the status of the property tax continued yesterday, as they entered their second round of claims and denials.
Rowley insisted at a public meeting on Saturday night that the Government, through the Finance Act brought to Parliament, provided for the implementation of property tax from January 1, 2016. But Howai yesterday was adamant there were no such plans to implement a property tax.
The law
Addressing a meeting at Five Rivers Junction, Arouca, Rowley said in 2015 the Government brought the Finance Act to Parliament.
That law stated the Property Tax Act of 2009 is amended by inserting the new section: “Not withstanding any written law to the contrary, the payment of any tax under the act shall be waived from the period January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2015.”
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150823 ... -jan-18217
Why is Howai lying? In 2013 they promised property tax, it's on Hansard, not to mention they didn't remove Property Tax, they just delayed it to Jan 1st 2016.
This is the lying by the government we can't take.
rfari wrote:See why i say zr is a hindrance to the unc? Uml right now is the real UNC MVP
UML wrote:Habit7 wrote:‘Property tax returns Jan 1’*
Published on Aug 23, 2015, 9:00 pm AST
By Ria Taitt
Political Editor
The crossing of swords between Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley and Finance Minister Larry Howai over the status of the property tax continued yesterday, as they entered their second round of claims and denials.
Rowley insisted at a public meeting on Saturday night that the Government, through the Finance Act brought to Parliament, provided for the implementation of property tax from January 1, 2016. But Howai yesterday was adamant there were no such plans to implement a property tax.
The law
Addressing a meeting at Five Rivers Junction, Arouca, Rowley said in 2015 the Government brought the Finance Act to Parliament.
That law stated the Property Tax Act of 2009 is amended by inserting the new section: “Not withstanding any written law to the contrary, the payment of any tax under the act shall be waived from the period January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2015.”
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150823 ... -jan-18217
Why is Howai lying? In 2013 they promised property tax, it's on Hansard, not to mention they didn't remove Property Tax, they just delayed it to Jan 1st 2016.
This is the lying by the government we can't take.
So it can't be amended further?
zoom rader wrote:rfari wrote:See why i say zr is a hindrance to the unc? Uml right now is the real UNC MVP
Wey de Bill for house tax 2015?
If and when PP brings the tax it be a fair tax not like PNM racket rail tax
Habit7 wrote:UML wrote:Habit7 wrote:‘Property tax returns Jan 1’*
Published on Aug 23, 2015, 9:00 pm AST
By Ria Taitt
Political Editor
The crossing of swords between Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley and Finance Minister Larry Howai over the status of the property tax continued yesterday, as they entered their second round of claims and denials.
Rowley insisted at a public meeting on Saturday night that the Government, through the Finance Act brought to Parliament, provided for the implementation of property tax from January 1, 2016. But Howai yesterday was adamant there were no such plans to implement a property tax.
The law
Addressing a meeting at Five Rivers Junction, Arouca, Rowley said in 2015 the Government brought the Finance Act to Parliament.
That law stated the Property Tax Act of 2009 is amended by inserting the new section: “Not withstanding any written law to the contrary, the payment of any tax under the act shall be waived from the period January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2015.”
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150823 ... -jan-18217
Why is Howai lying? In 2013 they promised property tax, it's on Hansard, not to mention they didn't remove Property Tax, they just delayed it to Jan 1st 2016.
This is the lying by the government we can't take.
So it can't be amended further?
Yeah of course it can.
But don't lie and tell us there have been no plans to implement it and Dr. Rowley is wrong. Property tax is law of the land, scaremongering about property tax is not patriotic, every developed democratic country pays property tax.
What is even more disingenuous is the Kamla2015 knocking the reduction on VAT saying it will cause a loss of revenue, when they pardon property tax for 5 years.
Habit7 wrote:Israel has property tax http://www.haaretz.com/business/.premium-1.653675
Monaco rental properties are annually taxed
Liechtenstein has tax on real estate income http://taxsummaries.pwc.com/uk/taxsumma ... -Residence
Malta has property tax http://taxsummaries.pwc.com/uk/taxsumma ... -Residence
Tax haven doesn't mean no taxes.
Countries with no property taxes
Yes, there actually are countries with no property taxes. Tell that to US politicians and they’d tell you that the schools would all shut down and people would be illiterate if that happened.
To them, $28,000 a year isn’t enough to educate a child in Washington, DC. Or $21,000 in New York. To these politicians, property taxes aren’t high enough.
This is the problem with owning real estate in a corrupt and socialist country. The money stolen from you is never enough and politicians have no incentive to find more reasonable ways to pay for schools, roads, and other public works.
And heaven forbid they’d let the free market provide these services. However, there are several countries around the world that would beg to disagree.
Here in southeastern Europe, Croatia has no annual property tax. Croatia does assess what is essentially a stamp tax of several percentage points when you buy a property, but that is all. It’s one and done for as long as you own the property.
Croatia also offers a relatively generous tax plan on rental income, as well as real estate capital gains. Own a property for three years or sell it to a family member earlier and pay zero capital gains in most cases.
Malta, located off the coast of Italy, has no annual property taxes but does assess a similar stamp fee in lieu of property tax.
The principality of Liechtenstein, one of Europe’s smallest microstates, also assesses no ongoing property taxes. While Liechtenstein has become a less favorable banking jurisdiction, you might enjoy owning property there if you’re a billionaire or don’t mind low yields on highly developed property in a tiny country.
Meanwhile, Europe’s smallest non-theocratic microstate – Monaco – has no property taxes. However, like Liechtenstein, be ready to pay. Also, if you wish to rent your Monaco property out, there is a 1% tax, although it is payable by the tenant.
Outside of Europe, there are a few interesting countries with no property tax. Not surpassingly, several of these are tropical island nations that would be of interest to foreigners escaping the daily grind.
Fiji does not assess property tax on freehold land. Less than ten percent of all of Fiji is freehold land, much of it set aside by the British to entice farmers to come and create agricultural goods years ago, but some suggest Fiji real estate is one of the best investments in the region.
One of my VC friends loves the place.
Owning land in Fiji is a relatively straightforward way to get permanent residency there. Fiji also has a territorial tax system that allows residents to pay no tax on income earned outside of Fiji, such as through an offshore company.
In addition to no wealth taxes or capital gains taxes, the Cook Islands in the South Pacific don’t assess property taxes.
The Middle East is becoming known as a zero tax region, with many countries there touting no income taxes. Countries such as Israel don’t have property taxes, but do have a tricky system of “acquisition taxes” that vary depending on the price of property and residency status.
Dubai is a “country” with no property tax, although it also assesses a one-time fee upon purchase of the property. Other Middle Eastern countries like Bahrain are property tax free, as well.
I would, however, be concerned about overheating of numerous real estate markets in the Middle East.
I’ve read about other island countries with no property tax, such as Seychelles, but some of these are misleading. Seychelles, for instance, requires almost 7% of a property’s value to be paid in various stamp taxes and notarial fees at sale.
It also requires foreigners to deposit monies in advance before buying property… and to get some crazy government permission. (Their banks aren’t so good, either).
This is the very idea behind planting flags. Seychelles is one of my favorite jurisdictions for setting up a non-transactional offshore company, but I can think of a lot of places I’d rather own real estate.
There are very few countries that truly have no property tax. Many have merely allowed property owners to pay a front-loaded sum in the form of a stamp tax or other fee that eliminates the need for never ending taxation.
Given the choice between two evils, I’d rather pay a front-end fee and be able to limit my costs going forward. I have to wonder if the presence of a significant stamp tax depresses prices slightly, as buyers must have more liquid cash upfront.
I suspect many westerners, used to putting 1.2% down when buying real estate, would scoff at the idea of investing overseas for that reason. If you’re buying property for your own enjoyment or for yield, I imagine there may be some tiny benefit from such upfront taxes.
At least in countries with no property taxes on an annual basis, you can actually keep more of your own money in your pocket each and every year. That’s something most governments don’t want you to do.
rfari wrote:That's beyond the point. Zr is about to explain how fiji's Indian hating dictatorship was formed by the pnm
UML wrote:So since 1961 the PNM has been "promising " the Pt Fortin Highway
And since 1991 the PNM has been "promising" VAT reduction.
#kamla2015
[/quote]Habit7 wrote:VAT on Food Flops
• Consumers still feel the pinch • $400m in revenue down the drain
Published: Sunday, June 2, 2013
Shaliza Hassanali
Seven months after Government slashed Value Added Tax (VAT) on 7,000 food items, president of the Supermarkets Association of T&T (Satt) Vernon Persad has admitted that the benefits consumers enjoyed from this initiative have since been eroded. Co-ordinator of the Network of NGOs Hazel Brown feels the move was just a “fallacy decision made without thinking it through, except for the political impact on it.”
Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment Vasant Bharath, whose ministry was responsible for the removal of VAT on the items, said if it were true that prices had increased, a lot of hard work and money would have gone down the drain. Bharath admitted that the matter was now a worrying concern. VAT was removed by the People’s Partnership Government on November 15, 2012 in an effort to lower food prices and curb food-price inflation.
This move resulted in Government foregoing $400 million in revenue. On Tuesday, Persad said Satt had observed increases on a number of non VAT items over the past few months. Among them are snacks, curry, baby items, sugar, peas and beans, dairy products and juices—many of which we import, Persad said. There are 1,200 supermarkets in T&T. He blamed the increases on suppliers. “A lot of the benefits of the VAT removal have been eroded.”
Persad said many factors influenced food price volatility, including world population growth, supply and demand, natural disasters and high oil, gas and wheat prices. Persad said consumers were “almost back to square one” and were now digging deeper in their pockets, while some have been buying less. “If you walk down the lanes of every supermarket the prices have changed. In a lot of categories we’ve seen movements already. We have seen food prices move up since January.”
Satt has written to the Government seeking its intervention on the matter. How are consumers coping with the growing increases? Persad said: “I can tell you, it is tough.” Satt has advised supermarket owners that memos from suppliers outlining new price increases be displayed on shelves to guard against abuse and complaints by customers.
Bharath: Increase in food prices worrying
On Wednesday, Bharath said once VAT was removed from food items, the Prices Council was supposed to monitor prices and inform consumers of price differentials. “What it appears, in the interim, it seems that wholesalers and importers have increased the prices that they were charging previously. I don’t know whether, in fact, their prices have gone up or whether they are utilising a sort of vacuum to put up their prices.”
Bharath said this information could have been provided by the council who “need to do more work. I think they need to be given more teeth to do their work.” He admitted that the council had no legal teeth to take supermarkets to court, but could only use persuasion to inform consumers that supermarket A sells far more than supermarket B. Insisting that T&T operates in a free market state, Bharath said there was little that could be done.
“We operate in a small environment controlled by a few players, therein lies the problem. I think there needs to be some legislative measure in place to ensure that if supermarkets are caught making higher margins than they ought to, then there should be some mechanism to ensure that consumers go to other places.” Asked if the council should have been provided with more teeth before the initiative was implemented, Bharath said “yes.”
For weeks, Bharath said his ministry worked tirelessly with Satt to remove the VAT. “Having gone through all of that, I think it is a lot of hard work down the drain, if in fact the claims that prices have gone straight back up to what it was before. It is worrying.”
Initiative not in vain
Questioned if Government’s initiative had now gone in vain, Bharath said they were well-intentioned in reducing food prices in the manifesto. “I don’t think it was in vain. I think the Government did everything it could do and had to do to reduce prices. One has to ask if these are genuine increases, then it would have meant that prices would have been 15 per cent higher had we not removed the VAT. That really is the issue.” Asked if the initiative was a political ploy, Bharath begged to differ.
If it is proven that importers are jacking up prices at their whim and fancy, how will they be dealt with? On Tuesday, Bharath said the Customs Amendment Bill will be debated in the Senate. Once it is passed in both Houses, Bharath said Customs and Excise would be obligated to share information on how much importers pay for food items abroad.
“That will assist us in determining the absolute truth behind this (prices.) If it is that the imported prices are not what they have been declared to be by the importers, then I think the sharing of information will force the prices down.”
Lee Yuen: No clout to make recommendations work
Wendy Lee Yuen, whose term ended as the council’s chairman last December, said despite taking blows from consumers, it was frustrating to work with professionals who came up with recommendations that did not help rising food prices. “You see no action taken. We had no clout to make any recommendation work. When you are looking to sweeten the electorate sometimes you take action that you hope will find favour with the electorate, without necessarily putting checks and balances in place.”
Since her departure, Lee Yuen said a new council was yet to be appointed, which gives the impression that no one was looking out for consumers. She said she could imagine that consumers were feeling hoodwinked and duped to a point. Lee Yuen said she wrote Consumer Affairs Division advising that it needed to operationalise the Fair Trading Commission, which was passed and assented in Parliament several years ago.
Appointing a commission, she said, will ensure that importers do not work in collusion, stop monopolies, advise the Trade Ministry of the rate of taxes on food items and streamline imported product. If asked to serve again, Lee Yuen said she would accept but only under certain conditions. “If it is going to be the same old same old, there will be no positive outcome for consumers.”
T&T affected by what happens globally—Harford-Rooks
Elizabeth Harford-Rooks, president of the Food Distributors Association, admitted that prices of some commodities had increased—mainly bacon, imported chicken and some canned vegetables. “There are issues right now with beef coming out of the US because of short supply. We are affected by what happens globally.” Harford-Rooks said the association always tried its best to keep prices down. “We will not increase a price just for increasing a price. It will not be beneficial for us.”
Brown: Concept flawed
Insisting from the onset that the concept of the VAT removal was flawed, Brown said the move cost the Government $400 million in revenue. Brown believes that the move only created opportunities for importers and not consumers. She urged consumers to exercise collective buying power and start growing vegetables at home. On Thursday, the Network of NGOs sold seedlings to the public and also gave advice to consumers on how to utilise spaces in their homes to grow crops.
A message left for T&T Manufacturers’ Association president Nicholas Lok Jack, who is out of the country, was not returned.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2013-06- ... food-flops
Allergic2BunnyEars wrote:Why don't you guys go down to the hospital and check it out for yourselves?
zoom rader wrote:^^^ PP taxes if any will more fairer and accountable for citizens.
So far its only PNM ppl bumping gumbs to a perceived house tax.
zoom rader wrote:Allergic2BunnyEars wrote:Why don't you guys go down to the hospital and check it out for yourselves?
For PNM ppl gas cheaper in town, u think they want to use up they lil gas to pass carion bridge.
eliteauto wrote:zoom rader wrote:Allergic2BunnyEars wrote:Why don't you guys go down to the hospital and check it out for yourselves?
For PNM ppl gas cheaper in town, u think they want to use up they lil gas to pass carion bridge.
since I pay UNC gas price I took a drive and the hospital is NOT open nor it it ready to accept any patients or even fully equipped so what exactly did the PM open and continues to boast about?
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