Property Tax in Trinidad & Tobago

[The_Honourable]

CNC3 clips on Property Tax:

[Dave]

^^^correct. VAT is not yours, you are just holding for the government. You are still making your mark up. Yes?

[sMASH]

right, when the business people hve to buy stuff, they will have to pay VAT as well, sellers not going to absorb any reduction in their purchasing power.

[src1983]

right, when the business people hve to buy stuff, they will have to pay VAT as well, sellers not going to absorb any reduction in their purchasing power.

I don't understand,

When a business buys from say AMCO for 100ex, he has a VAT RECEIVABLE of 12.5

When the business sells the item for 200ex he has a VAT payable of 25

At the end of the period he would then pay the BIR - 12.5

[Trinispougla]

hold on, something just clicked.


*rise little inflation birdie, rise!!*

BIR already start clamping down on some delinquent businesses already. Is only a matter of time before doubles men and parlor owners get it. I watch a man cry when they ask him for VAT returns for that last 5 years

It's too bad they doing this now, but for years people abused the system.

Would they go after doctors too?? Know plenty who I'm sure evading taxes. And they probably raking in more than doubles vendors.

Everybody, as BIR has the power to access your bank statements to see your deposits. So unless a Dr literally keeping money under his mattress he will get it too

Why everyone does get such a hard on for physicians and their taxes??? Literally anyone in this country who has a private business is evading taxes. All the way from largest contractors on the island to the little old lady in the parlor by the corner.

If you going to allow your big financiers to do it then everyone deserves a piece of the pie.

You don't want to Pay Income Tax, You don't want to pay Property Tax, You don't want to drive the legal speed limit.....a regular law abiding citizen you are.

You are right I don't want to do any of the above ... but I do! Except the speed limit of course that sheit is ridiculous no way in hell I sticking to that.

The reason is I do not get value for the money I spend in taxes ... I have to invest in protection for my own home .. government doh ensure a safe place for citizens to live. I have to pay to fix the drain in front of my house as borough refuses as they say they have no money. I have to pay for my families healthcare (I does get discount) cause the public system is rotten ... trust me I know. I have to pay more for maintenance and repair on my vehicle as the road infrastructure is sheit. By the time my kid is ready for school I will probably have to pay to send him to private school as the public system is deteriorating very quickly.

Remind me why I should want to pay taxes???

uhh..... because you could make a jail if you don't. Big difference between Picaroon Trinidad and Tobago or even a first world of progressive third world country. Taxes are not dependent on whether you receive the service or not, And in the first place Trinidadians don't pay that much in tax. Belgians pay 45-48% of their salaries in taxes bro and that is a country ten to fifteen times better off than us. Property tax is at the heart of the most basic taxation systems the world over. Hoss you do know that your parents and grandparents paid a form of property tax eh? Land and Building taxes was passed in 1920 and taxation on property has existed in the country since 1818 in some form or the other.

[drchaos]

hold on, something just clicked.


*rise little inflation birdie, rise!!*

BIR already start clamping down on some delinquent businesses already. Is only a matter of time before doubles men and parlor owners get it. I watch a man cry when they ask him for VAT returns for that last 5 years

It's too bad they doing this now, but for years people abused the system.

Would they go after doctors too?? Know plenty who I'm sure evading taxes. And they probably raking in more than doubles vendors.

Everybody, as BIR has the power to access your bank statements to see your deposits. So unless a Dr literally keeping money under his mattress he will get it too

Why everyone does get such a hard on for physicians and their taxes??? Literally anyone in this country who has a private business is evading taxes. All the way from largest contractors on the island to the little old lady in the parlor by the corner.

If you going to allow your big financiers to do it then everyone deserves a piece of the pie.

You don't want to Pay Income Tax, You don't want to pay Property Tax, You don't want to drive the legal speed limit.....a regular law abiding citizen you are.

You are right I don't want to do any of the above ... but I do! Except the speed limit of course that sheit is ridiculous no way in hell I sticking to that.

The reason is I do not get value for the money I spend in taxes ... I have to invest in protection for my own home .. government doh ensure a safe place for citizens to live. I have to pay to fix the drain in front of my house as borough refuses as they say they have no money. I have to pay for my families healthcare (I does get discount) cause the public system is rotten ... trust me I know. I have to pay more for maintenance and repair on my vehicle as the road infrastructure is sheit. By the time my kid is ready for school I will probably have to pay to send him to private school as the public system is deteriorating very quickly.

Remind me why I should want to pay taxes???

uhh..... because you could make a jail if you don't. Big difference between Picaroon Trinidad and Tobago or even a first world of progressive third world country. Taxes are not dependent on whether you receive the service or not, And in the first place Trinidadians don't pay that much in tax. Belgians pay 45-48% of their salaries in taxes bro and that is a country ten to fifteen times better off than us. Property tax is at the heart of the most basic taxation systems the world over. Hoss you do know that your parents and grandparents paid a form of property tax eh? Land and Building taxes was passed in 1920 and taxation on property has existed in the country since 1818 in some form or the other.

Like you did not read my post ... I pay taxes .... But I do not want to ...
I would not even have a problem paying Scandinavian taxation levels but I want Scandinavian services and infrastructure or at least a government that is on that track.

[sMASH]

right, when the business people hve to buy stuff, they will have to pay VAT as well, sellers not going to absorb any reduction in their purchasing power.

I don't understand,

When a business buys from say AMCO for 100ex, he has a VAT RECEIVABLE of 12.5

When the business sells the item for 200ex he has a VAT payable of 25

At the end of the period he would then pay the BIR - 12.5

wouldnt purchase everything for the business.

[car]

So what happens if I fill out the valuation form and deposit without a signature?

[drchaos]

So what happens if I fill out the valuation form and deposit without a signature?

You will get charged $500?

[car]

So what happens if I fill out the valuation form and deposit without a signature?

You will get charged $500?

$500 is for not submitting the form. The form will be submitted but no signature. So technically they not suppose to charge you.

[Goofy]

I for dat time to protest

[shake d livin wake d dead]

I for dat time to riot

[zagie]

all this talk, what we going to do about it, nothing cause the typical trini statement is how we go live............

[drchaos]

So what happens if I fill out the valuation form and deposit without a signature?

You will get charged $500?

$500 is for not submitting the form. The form will be submitted but no signature. So technically they not suppose to charge you.

That means the form is not complete ... Submitting an incomplete document is the same as not submitting one at all.

Go try to vote without putting a mark next to a candidate ... did you vote?
What about depositing a cheque without completing all the necessary information, does that money go into your account?

[The_Honourable]

Axe d tax man is back

[sMASH]

^^u had five years to fix it.

[hydroep]

Hmmm...

http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,242844.html

Attorneys claim Property Tax Act unconstitutional

...Asked whether they should fill out the forms sent out by the commissioner, Weatherhead said, “The form that is here is not the form in the act.” Displaying a form, he said, “What is on top of this piece of paper is not what is in the law.

Neither the Minister of Finance nor the Commissioner of Valuations can change what is the law passed by the Parliament.” The form in Schedule II of the Valuations Act, he said, does not ask for attachment of any document.

“It is not the prescribed form in law. It is illegal.” The only other time the forms can be filled, he said, is if it was sent by the commissioner by registered mail and addressed to the property owner, and not by someone walking around and sticking it in the mail box.

Those who received unaddressed notices were advised to keep a record of it and if any problem arises, to show what was sent.

[K74T]

Kamla: I take blame for Property Tax

Published on Apr 27, 2017, 12:13 pm AST
By Sandhya Santoo
sandhya.santoo@trinidadexpress.com


Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar addresses the audience during the United National Congress' public consultation on the Property Tax at her constituency office in Penal on Wednesday.

I TAKE the blame and forgive me.

These were the words of Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar as she addressed a public consultation on Property Tax forum where hundreds gathered for the event at her constituency office in Penal on Wednesday.

Persad-Bissessar said she will take blame for not repealing the law as it related to implementation of the Property Tax Act when she served as Prime Minister under the People’s Partnership tenure in Government.

“I don’t want to blame people today to say who did and didn’t do, or why and how and where - that’s why we are in Opposition. If you have to forgive me, I take the blame and forgive me as the leader of that Cabinet”, she said.

“We brought two bills to Parliament during my time to repeal the Act”, she explained. “What we did do in 2015 we passed Act Two of 2015 which was to insert a new section 52 and 53 A into the Act. That was all we were able to do. To say that from 2010 to December 2015 a waiver of any of these tax. That’s why for five years you didn’t pay”.

The former prime minister said that she would take the blame for not repealing the Act.

She made the statement during the question and answer segment of the public consultation.

“I take the blame, I keep saying I learn from my experiences”, said Persad-Bissessar.

“But we ensured that while we were there the Act was never implemented and you never paid. We validated that by making sure that we were able to pass the new Section 52 that anything between 2010 and 2015”.

“We said that should we form the Government this tax will be eradicated. We worked very hard on getting it there. It’s not just a simple thing to do. I wished to blame no one person. We did take care of you for five years there and should we get another five years we will take care of you again”, she said.

Persad-Bissessar said that the Property Tax, which she referred to “Poverty Tax”, has a compliance deadline of May 22 and will have an avalanche effect on consumer products.

She said that the Government rushed the legislation on the Property Tax Act and the Land Valuation Act as amended in 2009 and questioned why the Government wants citizens to suffer from more economic pressure.

Persad-Bissessar’s address followed that given by former Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran, who outlined the tenets of the property tax prosposal.

Rambarran had said that the country was “deep in recession” and it was the wrong time to implement the new tax.

The former Central Bank governor said that growth friendly economic fiscal policies are necessary and the Rowley-led People's National Movement administration has no idea of this.

Persad-Bissessar said the Government’s lack of plan goes beyond the property tax and includes no crime fighting plan and “every facet of our lives”.

“They have no plan and they just dotish”, Persad Bissessar said. “Whether you own property or do not own property, every single person in this country is going to be adversely, badly, negatively affected by this tax”.

“Why you (Government) want to suffer people? Mr Rambarran put it in a nice way, ‘economic illiteracy’. In Trini language, ‘they have no plan and they just dotish’,” she said.

She said that in the law, there is nothing that requires someone to send a photograph of their home or the other documents to Government officials as listed on the tax form.

However, when an assessor visits a property, the resident has no power to stop the person from carrying out their duty.

Persad-Bissessar said she has an issue with this and questioned the authenticity of the person coming to act on behalf of the Government. She warned that any person can enter the resident’s compound with merely a letter from the Ministry of Finance, and this poses a safety and security threat given the rise in criminal activity.

Persad-Bissessar also said that pensioners are not exempted from paying property tax but rather the accurate term is “deferred”.

“This tax is not based on how much money you are making but based on the value of the property. So a pensioner who has built up (a house) they say it is deferred. And what this means now , they defer it for a while and when that person pass away (die) and leaves it for son and daughter, what happens? They coming for you, and you are no pensioner so you cannot get a deferral and if you cannot pay it they will walk into your house and pick up anything in your house,” she said.

Persad-Bissessar also fielded questions from the audience who wanted clarity and legal advice on the Property Tax.

One person asked if there were consequences to preventing the officials from coming into private property.

The Opposition Leader responded “yes”, and added that State officials were within the law when they enter such premises.

President of the Penal/Debe Chamber of Commerce Shiva Roopnarine had concerns with business owners who have equipment stored at warehouses where they would have slowed down work or stopped, who would now have to pay taxes. He said that this was unjust.

In response to a question about squatters’ rights, Persad-Bissessar explained that squatters on State lands would be exempted from the property tax.

However, she said squatters on private lands would have to pay the tax on their structures.

Former Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine who spoke after Persad-Bissessar said he believed that given the current economic atmosphere it was not the correct time for the Government to implement the Property Tax.

Ramnarine said the country is already faced with financial and economic pressure, and that the Government is not “in touch with the people on the ground”.

He said that the tax “punishes” investors as they will have to pay more money.

Ramnarine also questioned the Government’s readiness when the Property Tax comes into effect.

He questioned whether the offices, such as the district revenue offices and the Board of Inland Revenue were well-equipped to handle the influx of people given the short timeline.

Persad-Bissesar announced that on Sunday there will be a motorcade from 10.30 a.m. in each of the UNC-controlled constituencies to bring more awareness about the Property Tax. The motorcades will end at FunSplash Waterpark in Debe where a rally will be held.

She added that the UNC’s Monday night forum will be held in Barrackpore at the Rochard Road Presbyterian School.

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20170427/news/kamla-i-take-blame-for-property-tax

[shake d livin wake d dead]

at least she din wait for Rowly to blame she for this too

[sMASH]

She will take the blame, but in the mean time, invert want my money, or my property...

[Dizzy28]

Well this is new. Kamla taking the blame for something!!!

[Trinispougla]

Well this is new. Kamla taking the blame for something!!!

Indeed. definitely a start.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

Imbert tried to comfort the public...said he is vex too

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

Never expected Kamla to own up and take blame for this, the people gave her a 2/3 majority to fix this property tax and she did nothing she drink rum.

I am sorry but really cannot accept this apology, I do have a little more respect for this woman but ever so slightly. What she did could never be forgiven we gave her a 2/3 majority to fix the property tax not to drink rum. There is no excuse for this because she had 5 years.
She did nothing about this because she needed it as insurance, so she could come back and say this to us now and we will just open our hands and accept her back. She planned this from the very beginning!!!

Apology NOT accepted, please step down as the UNC leader you are not fit for that role. Just go and retire, give this job to someone who deserves it someone who can make a difference, nobody will ever trust you again lady.

[rebound]

^^u had five years to fix it.

But you are fine with the one who took 18 months to break it????

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

^^u had five years to fix it.

But you are fine with the one who took 18 months to break it????

No he is Not fine with that.

But there is nothing we can do, we fully expected PNM to do this they even made it clear they would do it. That is why we voted her in because we couldn't trust the PNM so we put our trust in her because for years she claimed to fight for the poor to do the right thing.
We put all we had into her party we nearly destroyed the PNM by giving the UNC a 2/3 majority.

The first and last thing she did when she got into office was drink Rum. She did absolutely NOTHING about this property tax. For what its worth atleast the PNM didn't lie they said they were going to anal rape us so credit must be given to Rowley for holding his promise.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

Rowly now say squatters not paying tax...d MC

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

Rowly now say squatters not paying tax...d MC

That was obvious I mean how them going to make squatters pay tax when squatting by definition is illegal?

This is a lawless country the criminals are rewarded.

[sMASH]

i have to say, that part of the act is a bit befuddling to me. the jargon used acheived its goal in making it daunting for the layman to grasp the truth, and would need act on the advice of others.'

to me, its seemed as the act, although expressly says that the owners a liable to pay the tax, other places says that the occupiers can be called upon to pay up as well. that is the part that i not sure what i reading.

i can remember one of those meetings where the woman said once u have a pipe or a pole u can be taxed, as long as it is livable it is taxable. and they are interested in generating funds, not upholding the public good.

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

they have a professional right now on 90.5Fm talking about the property tax

http://v6.player.abacast.net/826

live link

The professional is saying that it is wrong for the government to be taking this tax without local government reform because our roads and drains won't be fixed