Business
Government commits to repealing Property Tax Act
Trinidad and Tobago’s Finance Minister says government will keep its promise to roll back property tax legislation introduced by the previous administration.
Government has sought to reassure residents that it will not impose the increased property taxes implemented by the previous People’s National Movement (PNM) government and would soon go to parliament to translate that promise into law.
Finance Minister Winston Dookeran said the Property Tax Act, which raises land and building taxes, had not been acted on since the former Patrick Manning government introduced it in December 2009, and that would continue.
“As indicated in the last Budget read on September 8, 2010, a waiver of lands and buildings tax has been instituted,” he said.
Minister of Housing and the Environment Dr. Roodal Moonilal was reported in the press yesterday as saying that the legislation for the tax is expected to be in place by September to “put that problem right”.
“The legislation which is due to come to Parliament is designed to revert to the old land and building taxes regime which existed prior to December 2009,” he told the newspaper.
Moonilal said that no decision had been taken on whether the legislation would be retroactive to January 2010 when the collection was put on hold.
During its election campaign, the People’s Partnership promised that it would get rid of the tax if it was given the reins of government in the May 2010 general elections.
