PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Friday, said. At the same time, it understands the need to implement the property tax. It notes with concern the financial impact it may have on citizens now.
Parliament on Wednesday passed the Valuation of Land (Amendment) Bill, 2023, with opposition 14 opposition legislators voting against the measure.
Finance Minister Colm Imbert told Parliament that property tax in Singapore was 10 percent of a property’s annual rental value, a concept he said was used worldwide, including Barbados.
“The annual rental value represents the prevailing rent for similar spaces in the rental market,” he said, adding that penalties for the non-payment of property tax did not involve imprisonment but just fines.
Imbert said eight out of 13 Caribbean countries with a property tax calculate this from the property’s annual rental value and that this tax in the United Kingdom was typically equivalent to TT$20,000 (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents), and in the US, it is TT$25,000, but in Trinidad and Tobago, it is an estimated TT$1,200.
In a statement, the private sector group said it is aware that the revenue generated from the property tax is necessary to pay for services and operations of the local government bodies and “hope it is executed equitably based on the criteria laid out for charges to be applied to properties.
“The timing, however, is an issue, as increases have hit consumers in costs, and to institute an additional cost on homeowners would make it difficult for them to meet their existing commitments,”
The Chamber further hopes the property tax would not “deter business owners from maintaining the companies’ plant and machinery and updating their infrastructure to industry-related best practices.
“We have in the past called for a revision of the six percent tax on industrial properties to apply strictly to physical property and not install cost of plant, machinery, and equipment inside or outside.
“We also maintain the view that introducing a top-line tax on businesses’ revenues may be a disincentive for further investment when the emphasis is to create an enabling environment for business growth and so have a ripple effect of less taxable opportunities for government.”
The private sector group said it looks forward to working with the relevant stakeholders and the Ministry of Finance to” find a solution to this matter.”
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