Business
No new taxes in Barbados budget
But the increase in VAT and other measures from the 2010 Budget have not been rolled back either. Tourism and business are among the sectors that have been promised incentives.
Barbadians were given a tax ease in the 2011 Budget delivered yesterday, with no new taxes imposed and an adjustment to land tax bands that will result in some property owners paying nothing at all.
The increase in VAT from 15 to 17.5 percent, an 18-month imposition on allowances, a 50 percent increase in the excise tax on gasoline, as well as a rise in bus fares, all instituted in the 2010 Budget, will remain in place, however.
In presenting the US$1.65 billion budget to Parliament yesterday evening, Finance Minister Chris Sinckler (pictured), also outlined incentives for the tourism and business sectors.
Property owners were the first to hear about tax relief, as Sinckler proposed that, effective this year, the existing tax bands should be adjusted while maintaining the current rate structure.
“For residential property, at present the first US$75,000 is exempted from tax. We propose to raise that to US$95,000. That, of course, will mean that an additional set of people will now not be paying taxes,” he told Parliament.
A rate of 0.1 percent that is currently applied up to the next US$200,000 in value will go up to US$250,000. A rate of 0.45 percent will be applied on properties valued up to US$625,000, up from US$500,000; and a rate of 0.75 percent will be applied to all properties in excess of US$625,000, which is an increase from the previous value of US$500,000.
Government, however, will be getting tough on people who try to avoid paying the required income tax. The fee for late filing will jump from US$50 to US$250.
“Some of course think this should be more but we are doing this not for revenue generation purposes but to increase the level of compliance with the Income Tax Act with respect to filing, whether or not a tax refund is due,” the Finance Minister said.
