Corporations are on opposite sides of the fence regarding the reduction of property tax for residential homeowners from three to two per cent.
As the debate on the Property Tax Amendment Bill, 2024 kicked off in Parliament yesterday, heads of corporations run by the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) and opposition United National Congress (UNC) weighed in on the one per cent reduction and six-month extension granted to query the valuation of properties which will end in June.
Chairman of the PNM-led Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation (TPRC), Josiah Austin, told Guardian Media he had no issues with the reduction in revenue, as a little was better than none.
“This decrease from three per cent to two per cent, we will take it because at the end of the day, it’s still a plus for us. It’s still more than we would have had before and we understand the need and why it would be reduced,” Austin said.
However, Siparia Mayor Doodnath Mayrhoo said even with the one per cent reduction, it is still an unfair tax.
“If it’s two per cent or three per cent, my issue is that it’s a burden on the population. People are already facing a crisis in this country with respect to unemployment and people cannot make the basic amenities like groceries and electricity and so on and electricity is due for a hike soon. So, I think that property tax should be scrapped altogether,” Mayrhoo said.
Similar sentiments were expressed by Princes Town Regional Corporation (PTRC) chairman Gowrie Roopnarine, who accused Government of playing smart with foolishness.
“It is a hoax that it would help corporations, as the revenue collected goes into the Consolidated Fund and not the corporation. Whether it is two per cent or three per cent, we cannot support this oppressive tax while crime is high. Unemployment is high and people are basically fighting to survive on meagre earnings in most cases.”
Chaguanas mayor Faaiq Mohammed also rejected the tax.
“Whether it is set at two per cent or three per cent, the property tax is an oppressive measure that we cannot, in good conscience, support. As leaders representing our community, we see firsthand the struggles faced by our citizens. Crime rates are soaring, unemployment is rampant, and families are fighting to survive on meagre earnings. In such dire circumstances, imposing additional financial burdens on our people is simply unconscionable.”
Guardian Media reached out to several PNM corporations, including the San Fernando City Corporation, Port-of-Spain City Corporation, Point Fortin Borough Corporation and others but got no response.
Nevertheless, even as corporations toe party lines, political scientist Dr Indira Rampersad said property tax will work against the Government ahead of general elections, as she noted that the UNC’s ‘scrap the tax’ campaign is making headway among the population.
“It’s going to be a loser for anybody going into an election. The UNC slogan on scrap the tax is much more popular than anything the PNM going to try to convince the people of a three per cent reduction to two per cent, and threaten with the arrival of the UNC to governance and what will happen. That ain’t flying this round.”
Meanwhile, political commentator Shane Mohammed said traditional PNM voters disenfranchised by property tax could withhold their vote while UNC voters will turn out for their party. However, he acknowledged that property tax is not the only issue for the voting public to consider.
“If the traditional voters of the PNM are not happy with the PNM and what they are saying in terms of the taxing and the property tax and if we’re being this more or less on the property tax issue, then the traditional PNM voter is more likely to not vote, period. They will withhold their vote,” Mohammed said.
“In terms of the traditional UNC voter, they will go out and vote for the UNC based on their loyalty, they don’t trust the PNM. But property tax is not the only issue that is going to come up on the campaign agenda as it pertains to the whole of society.”
Mohammed said he believes the population is not against property tax but the formulae used to calculate the annual rental value of people’s homes. He said the Government needs to be transparent about the formulae and reevaluate the process going forward.