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Mini wrote:it's no secret that rental rates are inflated right now (as are property values)... if a "expert assessor" for the purpose of taxes assesses a property (say a 2br 1 bth, apt, etc.) for say $2000 .... then the tenant shouldn't be asked to pay much more than this... (currently such a place may at present go for TT$3000 to as much as US$1000)
evo-STI-k wrote:landlords have already started to raise rentals!
sorry for those who didnt have a contract and were rentign month to month basis!
You really think landlords are going to accept and buffer the taxes???
I have seen comments by a few misguided souls on the latest property tax imposed in the last budget. The sole argument is that most countries in the world (with special reference to the US) have property taxes that run into the thousands of dollars annually, so why not T&T? One Afra Raymond of a prominent valuation firm in Port-of-Spain went so far as to say that these taxes are 50 to 60 years overdue. I suspect that in the case of Raymond, since he has a vested interest in the business of property ownership and had learnt all that he knows from schooling at one of the universities in the West, this has twisted his view.
However, I find it incredible that educated men could be so myopic and single-minded when it comes to the bigger picture. Now, on the other hand, I suggest that in arriving at the cost of property tax, one should measure a basket of other costs (and benefits if any) that citizens must bear (or receive). To arrive at this figure, it may be necessary to compare property tax (and benefits) to other Western countries, notably the US, that we so like to compare ourselves with so much. We should analyze some of these costs and benefits as follows:
What personal tax rate is currently applied in, say, the US, what exemptions are there if any. In Trinidad, all income over $60,000 a year is taxable.
What sales tax is paid in the US as opposed to what obtains in T&T. Most of the 50 states employ a sales tax of around five per cent. In Trinidad that tax is 15 per cent (VAT). So each and every day we pay some ten per cent more for what we consume because of this tax.
Of course these heartless pro-tax people can find another country with a sales tax of close to 15 per cent if they so wish to defend their ridiculous and simplistic positions. Other taxes to note are the fuel tax, health surcharge, NIS, green levy, airport tax, the old land and building tax, property transfer tax etc. These should be measured against similar taxes in the same US, not so? In calculating if we should even pay another tax (given that the Government may change the name from tax to fee), one must also consider the standard of living of the citizens in T&T compared with the target country, the US. What is the poverty level in T&T, and how many of its people will be caught by the tax, either directly or indirectly.
From what I have seen, a poor person can buy a semi-decent meal off the dollar menu (US$0.99) in most of the fast food outlets in the US. The closest T&T can get to that is two doubles for $8. It seems that even basic food is cheaper in the US, which is relevant in deciding whether to tax us again. In fact, for a third world country, Trinidad is uniquely placed where a poor person is unable to purchase a basic meal for under US$1 (TT$6.30)
In deciding whether we should be taxed again, we should compare the benefits we receive from our current taxes and compare them to those that people in the US enjoy.
For example, are our network of roads adequate or properly maintained that would compare with the US? I for one have never seen such deplorable road conditions with uneven surfaces that most certainly will cause the novice driver to loose control and kill himself/herself and probably others in what the Government may casually refer to as collateral damage. Is the quality of schooling such that it will lead our students to be more competitive with other top countries or just breed more dependency and banditry? Is the level of policing such that we can easily detect, apprehend and convict criminals who, year after year, attack our citizens fully aware that they will not be caught. Could we get immediate help like in the US when our homes are burglarised or robbed?
To the people who agree with this new tax, I ask them why over 90 per cent of T&T does not have a sewage disposal system and over 80 per cent does not have a regular supply of water. Yet they want to compare our property taxes with people who get these utilities as a matter of course. Or, to put it another way, are our current tax dollars being used effectively and in the best interest of the majority of the population? If not, then why not? Then why tax us more and separate the taxes under different guises when in truth all the monies are going into the same pool to be wasted and squandered yet again?
Further, do Trinidadians have alternatives of escaping burdensome taxes like so many do in the US? In 2008/2009, south Florida has become one of the costliest places to live in the US. This is because of the recent increase in property taxes. This has caused many people to leave Florida for less expensive states to live where the taxes are lower. Do Trinidadians have this option to relocate in order to escape these burdensome new taxes? Unless we have a degree, we can’t even move to Grenada under Caricom guidelines. There are so many more heavy taxes that we Trinidadians pay that are not borne by US citizens.
Maybe those that justify this new tax can also explain to the population why cars imported into T&T sell for more than double after the government taxes are added on. Couldn’t this money more than compensate/replace the property taxes that are being justified by the proponents? In the US, imported cars attract taxes in the single digit. And to crown it off, car transfer taxes in T&T, which were already higher than the US, were raised again. And what about the costs of houses themselves? Isn’t the average middle income house in Trinidad more expensive than those in the US?
A two-bedroom condo in a gated community can now costs Americans under US$100,000. You cannot get a gated community townhouse in T&T for that figure. Now, I ask, when taking all these factors into account, do we still want to compare T&T property taxes with that of the US?
janfar wrote:So with this petition, will it be presented to the government after and will they accept it if more than 50% of the population signs it once only?
Humes wrote:Online petitions have been changing the world since their inception. Authorities never ignore online petitions.
The average homeowner is going to have to pay between $20,000 and $40,000 in property tax.
And they found some children in a container.
Duane 3NE 2NR wrote:janfar wrote:So with this petition, will it be presented to the government after and will they accept it if more than 50% of the population signs it once only?
no there is no guarantee of that
its just a list of people
while they may use the list to lobby for a change, I don't know if an online petition holds any value in T&T since our lobby requirements may need real signatures.
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This is D worst Budget in the History of TNT 