Budget 2016/2017

[redmanjp]

I wah dem collect dey 3% from d laventillians first..

Come on dude. You know better than that. Why work hard and buy your own house and land when you can get everything handed out to you for free.

Serious question, do those who have HDC homes have to pay this property tax?

Every home owner and anyone who OWNS property will have to pay the property tax.

but if hdc homes was $1000 rent then it's 3% of that?

[Coppershot]

http://www.finance.gov.tt/budget-statement-2017/

http://www.finance.gov.tt/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Budget-Statement-2017-for-web.pdf

[2NR Smurf]

unfortunately, some of you really can't understand the point of all of this and are still trying to cheat the system and think you are entitled to all these luxury items you import instead of buying locally and supporting local businesses and employment..

this all just flies over your heads..

and of course some business will raise prices as a knee jerk reaction, but smart business will cease the opportunity to under price competition and sell volume instead of aggressive markup

but this too will prob fly over your heads ...

Yeah but you not understanding that we get inferior goods locally, we get nowhere near the same variety of goods either. Whatever is sold locally is some rejected product with lots of bad reviews online about failure.

For example Television Sets from Latin America are made using inferior capacitor brands etc. You talk like they are selling us the same quality products that are being sold on Amazon.

NO what they are doing is selling us the garbage 3rd world Latin American version and charging about the same price as Amazon which sells the US version. I think MOST people nearly everyone would happily buy locally if we were provided with the same quality people value their money which is why they resort to Amazon.

Let us not forget having to pay for courts super shield warranty locally, yeah PAY FOR WARRANTY?
I mean that is even worse, you importing from Latin America next door one would for the very least expect that you would get local warranty that is listed.

breds what are you talking about

the same samsung tv your buy locally, is the same damn tv you buying on amazon...
trini's feel entitled to the latest biggest things and expect to cheat the system

pay ya blasted taxes.. if you was living in the USA yu would have no problem paying the 7%+ taxes most states have that you avoid by being outside the USA and buying on amazon>. don't event talk about the under valued items we pay taxes on at the couriers,, items worth 1000 us valued at 200 etc..

anyway i done..

Actually, ED is some what correct in that many of the electronics and appliances brought in by local distributors are models specific to Latin america. Exactly what this means wrt to quality, I am in no position to say and I'm assuming the local distributors don't have much choice in what the manufacturer will sell them.

And Trinis are not avoiding the 7% state side tax by shopping on Amazon. In fact Amazon has been charging this tax to items shipped within Florida for quite some time now.

In the 4 or 5 years I've been shopping online I have never had an item under valued by my courier and as of late most couriers have become more stringent in valuing packages, even going so far as to hold packages in Miami until an invoice is provided.

[*$kїđž!™]

So.with all being said....is there anything for the people in d budget?...u know ....something beneficial...?.

All I hearing is increase in diesel and online taxes

[Bezman]

unfortunately, some of you really can't understand the point of all of this and are still trying to cheat the system and think you are entitled to all these luxury items you import instead of buying locally and supporting local businesses and employment..

this all just flies over your heads..

and of course some business will raise prices as a knee jerk reaction, but smart business will cease the opportunity to under price competition and sell volume instead of aggressive markup

but this too will prob fly over your heads ...

Yeah but you not understanding that we get inferior goods locally, we get nowhere near the same variety of goods either. Whatever is sold locally is some rejected product with lots of bad reviews online about failure.

For example Television Sets from Latin America are made using inferior capacitor brands etc. You talk like they are selling us the same quality products that are being sold on Amazon.

NO what they are doing is selling us the garbage 3rd world Latin American version and charging about the same price as Amazon which sells the US version. I think MOST people nearly everyone would happily buy locally if we were provided with the same quality people value their money which is why they resort to Amazon.

Let us not forget having to pay for courts super shield warranty locally, yeah PAY FOR WARRANTY?
I mean that is even worse, you importing from Latin America next door one would for the very least expect that you would get local warranty that is listed.

breds what are you talking about

the same samsung tv your buy locally, is the same damn tv you buying on amazon...
trini's feel entitled to the latest biggest things and expect to cheat the system

pay ya blasted taxes.. if you was living in the USA yu would have no problem paying the 7%+ taxes most states have that you avoid by being outside the USA and buying on amazon>. don't event talk about the under valued items we pay taxes on at the couriers,, items worth 1000 us valued at 200 etc..

anyway i done..

Actually, ED is some what correct in that many of the electronics and appliances brought in by local distributors are models specific to Latin america. Exactly what this means wrt to quality, I am in no position to say and I'm assuming the local distributors don't have much choice in what the manufacturer will sell them.

And Trinis are not avoiding the 7% state side tax by shopping on Amazon. In fact Amazon has been charging this tax to items shipped within Florida for quite some time now.

In the 4 or 5 years I've been shopping online I have never had an item under valued by my courier and as of late most couriers have become more stringent in valuing packages, even going so far as to hold packages in Miami until an invoice is provided.

from my personal experience doing business with a major local electronics retailer and distributor, they import directly from the manufacturer in china. from tv's, tablets, speakers, everything.. apple stuff, bought directly from apple, supplied from china.

[tourniquet]

lol @ beating the system.

do you alert the courier company and customs when they under value your items? this is 99% the reason most ppl import stuff

I've never had that issue with IBC with that, and yes, I do check. For the people "getting away" with certain things, I would consider that part of the inefficiencies I mentioned earlier.
You sure is 99% right?
How about those that order stuff online not just because of legitimate price savings, but because of the power of choice, or because of convenience with their work schedule, or those who don't want to deal traffic, or more importantly, with anyone's lack of training, or home problems that they bring to work. Might be a hell of a 1% there eh?
This is more of a nuisance to legitimate online consumers.

[cherrypopper]

A television of exact specs ,color and shape can have three different models for different regions. .

Years ago a popular furniture store brought in tvs from Latin America . It wasn't designed for our region,the tvs developed spots at the corner of the screen and would move when the tv was shifted. .

Magnetic field interference

[gastly369]

Was looking for some hb4 led bulbs on amazon for $2.60us pair(could look for my post in misc saying will buy locally before going online)...so say well lemme support de local man and went to a well rated shop ..man selling same item for $280tt.....

*Whet home n purchase online

[Bezman]

lol @ beating the system.

do you alert the courier company and customs when they under value your items? this is 99% the reason most ppl import stuff

I've never had that issue with IBC with that, and yes, I do check. For the people "getting away" with certain things, I would consider that part of the inefficiencies I mentioned earlier.
You sure is 99% right?
How about those that order stuff online not just because of legitimate price savings, but because of the power of choice, or because of convenience with their work schedule, or those who don't want to deal traffic, or more importantly, with anyone's lack of training, or home problems that they bring to work. Might be a hell of a 1% there eh?
This is more of a nuisance to legitimate online consumers.

i must agree with the convenience aspect, but for a long time, local couriers/customs undervalued stuff coming in. I am not disputing the choice/variety aspect either. and (insert back pedal meme here) 99% is an exaggeration

what i guess i was saying badly, is that if you are buying a 55" tv for 500 USD online vs the same one that cost 1500 USD locally, paying 7% in TTD is nothing, and a fair nod to the govt.. besides that, there are allot of items (or the substitute) can be purchase locally. what the govt is "trying" to do is get ppl to purchase more things locally. (give up designer clothes and luxury items and/or cheaper brands/products only found online) and buy the locally sold counterparts and support the local economy, or import ya stuff, but pay a little to the gov..

I personally could have gotten local tuner shops to buy/order all the parts for my project cars, and (if we all did) it would have probably helped create employment etc and build them into bigger businesses, but I choose to import everything myself. and I guess they are just trying to make us rethink things like this... buying turbo hoses and clamps online vs just paying the $20-50 TT more per hose and $25 TT more per clamp locally (and get them immediately)..

[shake d livin wake d dead]

How is the tax calculated for vacant land as well as agricultural land?

[bumpie]

The rotweilder has been unleashed.

[kjaglal76v2]

lol @ beating the system. Everything I purchase online I pay VAT and Duties when applicable. I suppose this is an easier way rather than addressing the inefficiencies, ineffectiveness, and general bobool that goes on in Customs .
DOMA et al would be grateful for this though, I know they were griping about online shopping for quite some time now. Again, rather than looking at themselves and their general shoddy service and support, they placed blame on "everybody buying online :'( "
Supporting local is a two way street.

Bezman making less sense than effectic right now. Just let that sink in. Talk done. No offense effectic.

again i'll ask, do you alert customs or the courier company when they value your item(s) at 1/4 the value so you can pay the correct tax, duty and vat?? if not you're cheating the system

Dude shut up, you don't think greedy local businessmen undervalue ALL their imported goods?

[japan-r-us]

[jm3]

I'm gonna rub down his Porsche when I next see him

[tourniquet]

rub down with what?

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

I dunno why u all bothering to explain it to him na... His personal experiences and his dealer's methods is clearly what ALL retailers do right??

Like if you look at Electronics designed for the US Market typically has superior capacitors, for example products designed for the Latin American region like say electronics will have circuit boards or power supplies designed with garbage like CapXon for main capacitors.
Whereas the same product that was designed for the US Market uses superior Japanese Chemi Con for the main capacitors.
I remember my mother bought a 32 inch Samsung HDTV some years ago from standards it was the Latin American version she paid extra money for 3 years warranty and in 2 years the TV cap out We carry it back to standards they kept it for 4 weeks then call us and said they don't have parts to fix it then went onto say they won't refund us anything or assist us in anyway. Consumer Affairs was useless when I contacted them. Many of the items sold down here are also rejects the ones where US Consumer reports say a specific batch of model is faulty, Americans will then stay away from these products and they end up coming to the 3rd world so when you feel you getting Made in China stuff for the US Market think about what you actually buying down here.

Anyways we went and bought a Sony Bravia TV on Amazon one with the highest rating stars and we never had a single issue with it and never bought locally again. And guess what? the Bravia TV took 1 day longer to arrive to the Skybox address and you know what Amazon did? they refunded me something like $15 US for the inconvenience and apologized!!! Now that is first world service!!!

[cherrypopper]

I dunno why u all bothering to explain it to him na... His personal experiences and his dealer's methods is clearly what ALL retailers do right??

Like if you look at Electronics designed for the US Market typically has superior capacitors, for example products designed for the Latin American region like say electronics will have circuit boards or power supplies designed with garbage like CapXon for main capacitors.
Whereas the same product that was designed for the US Market uses superior Japanese Chemi Con for the main capacitors.
I remember my mother bought a 32 inch Samsung HDTV some years ago from standards it was the Latin American version she paid extra money for 3 years warranty and in 2 years the TV cap out We carry it back to standards they kept it for 4 weeks then call us and said they don't have parts to fix it then went onto say they won't refund us anything or assist us in anyway. Consumer Affairs was useless when I contacted them.

We went and bought a Sony Bravia TV on Amazon one with the highest rating stars and we never had a single issue with it and never bought locally again. And guess what? the Bravia TV took 1 day longer to arrive to the Skybox address and you know what Amazon did? they refunded me something like $15 US for the inconvenience and apologized!!! Now that is first world service!!!

That furniture store self. .Latin America electronics.

Had to return a dvd player and even had to get a tech to check my tv

Tech indicated these things not for the Caribbean

[Kalisnakov]

30% millionaire tax.......hmmmmmm wonder if d Syrians will be paying that......

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

^ Yup region specific items are another problem. For example if you buy a video game that was say designed for somewhere in Latin America it could end up saying incorrect region and not activate same thing with those cheap Russian keys online.
If you buy something for the North American market, it works just fine and dandy in Trinidad. This is because we are considered the English Speaking Caribbean even Steam considers us this thats why steam store page is in English and we are given same deals like USA.

Local retailers just buy the cheapest stocks they can find they don't care if its region specific, old outdated stocks with bad reviews that Americans don't want they sell it to people here who aren't knowledgeable enough to research it online.

[bluesclues]

Will have to see exactly where this 7% tax is occuring to see if i should care lol. If it at the customs level. Well suitcase for it.

[viedcht]

Man fack all ah allyuh. Stag is 12 dollars now.

no more 3 for 20/ 3for25

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

Will have to see exactly where this 7% tax is occuring to see if i should care lol. If it at the customs level. Well suitcase for it.

Isn't it through the courier? when they deliver your item they will just add another 7% to the invoice?

[VexXx Dogg]

Will have to see exactly where this 7% tax is occuring to see if i should care lol. If it at the customs level. Well suitcase for it.

Isn't it through the courier? when they deliver your item they will just add another 7% to the invoice?

This is exactly how I suspect it will be operationalized.

[Morpheus]

I will pay my 7% and continue to shop for certain things online.....

Frig those lame, annoying local businesses.

Some are stepping up in terms of variety, price, layout and professionalism. Those get my attention before I look to go online.

Also more of these local businesses need to keep their websites updated and to also include prices. What they hiding so? Get with the times. I am sure a lot of people will gravitate towards local once they move in the right direction.

[EFFECTIC DESIGNS]

^ I feel the same way, not gonna be bullied into supporting these PNM financiers by buying their nasty 3rd world rejected models. Will pay the 7% online yes. Atleast I know Amazon is honest and they never tried to scam me like these local Trini stores.

As a matter of fact because I have been a customer so many years, I once bought an item from a 3rd party seller, he sent a non working video card and never responded to my email for a refund, Amazon gave me the refund in full on my credit card when I complained. That in itself Amazon deserves my money over these local frauds who charge MONEY for WARRANTY and then show you the middle finger by saying they don't have parts to fix it.

Not to mention the amount of these dishonest stores locally are selling refurbished items and passing it off as "new" when you open the box you can clearly see how many of these stuff are not actually new as they claim, repossessed items from financing etc. A lot of 3rd party sellers on Amazon does the same but at the end of the day you have the choice of buying directly from Amazon LLC and you are guaranteed to get genuine new.

[redmanjp]

if this 7% online tax is on item + CIF then when u look at it is more like 10% more on the item

e.g. - item cost US$100 plus US$40 local charges = $140
7% of $140 = $9.80, so new total is 149.80
149.80 - 140 = 9.8 ~ $10

[redmanjp]

might have some relief if i could keep d light bill under $300

[pugboy]

Depends if it over the total cost incl shipping and them "fuel surcharge"
Or on the item value only first
A guesstimate rule of thumb, is instead of approx 40%, charges will be closer to 50%

[Strugglerzinc]

I will pay my 7% and continue to shop for certain things online.....

Frig those lame, annoying local businesses.

Some are stepping up in terms of variety, price, layout and professionalism. Those get my attention before I look to go online.

Also more of these local businesses need to keep their websites updated and to also include prices. What they hiding so? Get with the times. I am sure a lot of people will gravitate towards local once they move in the right direction.

x1000

Chances are that even with an additional 7%, it will be more cost effective to buy items online, especially with a diesel increase.

[jm3]

After all the price increases and taxes it feels shitty living in trinidad now