Property Tax in Trinidad & Tobago

[car]

Electricity and water rates will be raised soon.
Gas subsidy will be gone in the 2017 September/October budget.

[rspann]

Imbert was on TV last night explaining it. He said next two weeks and he gave the new structure with the ten percent and even worked out an example.he said people would be going around updating the records,so I think the info above is wrong.

[meccalli]

Electricity and water rates will be raised soon.
Gas subsidy will be gone in the 2017 September/October budget.

You can carpool, use public transport, be more energy and water efficient and reduce wastage to accommodate those.
Seems like demolition and reconstruction is the only way to reduce whatever arbitrary valuation based tax you'll be subjectively assigned.

[dude2014]

Some body has to pay for the infrastructure, such as roads, electricity, schools, security, hospitals and it comes in the form of taxes. Property taxes, VAT, PAYE, Health surcharge, etc and the infamous NIS, scheme and more scheme.

Trust me when I tell you patos had it worked out and I have the book to prove it. Local Govt had a rate and taxes dept that had completed an exercise to implement same. After spending millions of dollars it was abondon for the Revenue Authority. That was true Local Government reform as they would have retained some of it for roads construction, maintenance, recreation grounds, garbage collection, etc. ....

Property taxes is a necessity. However with poor appreciation for its purpose and the normal mismanagement it is seen as a monster. Just check our relatives in England and the US, they pay Poll tax or property taxes.

Taxes are required but a property tax isn't. There is no reason for it and we'll have bobol in the local and national levels.

Justify the reason/s for not charging a property tax. How in any body's name other than god's are we going to pay all the people at the Ministry of legal affairs who maintain the Land Registry, the persons at the Warden Offices?

Do you have land? Rest comfortably when I tell you in the absence of such, I can scheme you out of land and other assets.

Actually you do not have to pay tax. We will declare you Persona Non Grata who will be grateful for an ID card so you can pay for all the free services you will be enjoying such as roads, hospitals, schools which the rest of us who are paying taxes is entitled to do so because we paid all the taxes we are lawfully required to do.

With regards the bobol what I posted previously "Property taxes is a necessity. However with poor appreciation for its purpose and the normal mismanagement it is seen as a monster. Just check our relatives in England and the US, they pay Poll tax or property taxes" I am to ask what are you doing presently to prevent BOBOL.

It is not about the big fish, but the small ones like me who are peeling away at their scales to keep them in check. Decide what type of fish you want to be. If you choose wisely I will follow ...........

I have no problem paying taxes invluding property tax but will the money be used to improve our lives and country or for corruption? We already pay so much taxes for vehicles in this country and look at the condition of the roads, public transportation and road infrastructure. Health, security and transit should be the first three things any government should deal with but if they do how will their friends who own these security companies, private medical institutions make money?

Nanlal trace.jpg

It is not for me to firefight but rather to direct you to the underlying philosophy of property tax which I have already said is a misnomer (Mon 20th. March @10.09pm). So there is corruption. You have reported it. What is the progress on the case ................

[dude2014]

Some body has to pay for the infrastructure, such as roads, electricity, schools, security, hospitals and it comes in the form of taxes. Property taxes, VAT, PAYE, Health surcharge, etc and the infamous NIS, scheme and more scheme.

Trust me when I tell you patos had it worked out and I have the book to prove it. Local Govt had a rate and taxes dept that had completed an exercise to implement same. After spending millions of dollars it was abondon for the Revenue Authority. That was true Local Government reform as they would have retained some of it for roads construction, maintenance, recreation grounds, garbage collection, etc. ....

Property taxes is a necessity. However with poor appreciation for its purpose and the normal mismanagement it is seen as a monster. Just check our relatives in England and the US, they pay Poll tax or property taxes.

Taxes are required but a property tax isn't. There is no reason for it and we'll have bobol in the local and national levels.

Justify the reason/s for not charging a property tax. How in any body's name other than god's are we going to pay all the people at the Ministry of legal affairs who maintain the Land Registry, the persons at the Warden Offices?

Do you have land? Rest comfortably when I tell you in the absence of such, I can scheme you out of land and other assets.

Actually you do not have to pay tax. We will declare you Persona Non Grata who will be grateful for an ID card so you can pay for all the free services you will be enjoying such as roads, hospitals, schools which the rest of us who are paying taxes is entitled to do so because we paid all the taxes we are lawfully required to do.

With regards the bobol what I posted previously "Property taxes is a necessity. However with poor appreciation for its purpose and the normal mismanagement it is seen as a monster. Just check our relatives in England and the US, they pay Poll tax or property taxes" I am to ask what are you doing presently to prevent BOBOL.

It is not about the big fish, but the small ones like me who are peeling away at their scales to keep them in check. Decide what type of fish you want to be. If you choose wisely I will follow ...........

When iz the last time you went in the Min of Legal Affairs? In mass confusion inside that place. Them ppl dont know they rass fm they elbow.

Talk to five people and u will get five different answers to ur question.

I go all the time. To submit Corporate returns, get copies of plans, etc. There is bureaucracy and then there is me. I do not give two hoots about the five answers, just call for the floor supervisor or report their rotting tails to the Public Services Commission ....................

[shake d livin wake d dead]

Imbert was on TV last night explaining it. He said next two weeks and he gave the new structure with the ten percent and even worked out an example.he said people would be going around updating the records,so I think the info above is wrong.

spann I guess we just hada wait for imballs...cuz yuh know them men would definitely find ways to dig out yah eye...and create ways for pnm mites to not pay

coughs (beetham and environs)

[bluesclues]

Some body has to pay for the infrastructure, such as roads, electricity, schools, security, hospitals and it comes in the form of taxes. Property taxes, VAT, PAYE, Health surcharge, etc and the infamous NIS, scheme and more scheme.

Trust me when I tell you patos had it worked out and I have the book to prove it. Local Govt had a rate and taxes dept that had completed an exercise to implement same. After spending millions of dollars it was abondon for the Revenue Authority. That was true Local Government reform as they would have retained some of it for roads construction, maintenance, recreation grounds, garbage collection, etc. ....

Property taxes is a necessity. However with poor appreciation for its purpose and the normal mismanagement it is seen as a monster. Just check our relatives in England and the US, they pay Poll tax or property taxes.

Taxes are required but a property tax isn't. There is no reason for it and we'll have bobol in the local and national levels.

Justify the reason/s for not charging a property tax. How in any body's name other than god's are we going to pay all the people at the Ministry of legal affairs who maintain the Land Registry, the persons at the Warden Offices?

Do you have land? Rest comfortably when I tell you in the absence of such, I can scheme you out of land and other assets.

Actually you do not have to pay tax. We will declare you Persona Non Grata who will be grateful for an ID card so you can pay for all the free services you will be enjoying such as roads, hospitals, schools which the rest of us who are paying taxes is entitled to do so because we paid all the taxes we are lawfully required to do.

With regards the bobol what I posted previously "Property taxes is a necessity. However with poor appreciation for its purpose and the normal mismanagement it is seen as a monster. Just check our relatives in England and the US, they pay Poll tax or property taxes" I am to ask what are you doing presently to prevent BOBOL.

It is not about the big fish, but the small ones like me who are peeling away at their scales to keep them in check. Decide what type of fish you want to be. If you choose wisely I will follow ...........

When iz the last time you went in the Min of Legal Affairs? In mass confusion inside that place. Them ppl dont know they rass fm they elbow.

Talk to five people and u will get five different answers to ur question.

Yup.. very true.. was there recently. After multiple telephone conversation confirming that I could perform specified business on site... I arrive to be told it is not handled there

[rspann]

Imbert was on TV last night explaining it. He said next two weeks and he gave the new structure with the ten percent and even worked out an example.he said people would be going around updating the records,so I think the info above is wrong.

spann I guess we just hada wait for imballs...cuz yuh know them men would definitely find ways to dig out yah eye...and create ways for pnm mites to not pay

coughs (beetham and environs)

Wait till landlords start increasing rent to compensate for their high property tax, as usual , who could least afford will suffer. Then when business properties ,whether rented or not, try to compensate for the additional cost ,there is going to be a chain reaction.

[drchaos]

Yup land owners will probably raise even higher than new property tax levels to make ah extra buck ... PNM shooting their grass roots supporters in the foot again.

[sMASH]

Yup... continuing the downward spiral

[De Dragon]

Yup land owners will probably raise even higher than new property tax levels to make ah extra buck ... PNM shooting their grass roots supporters in the foot again.

Dotish vote lock dong so wha' yuh expeck?

[sMASH]

the only thing more sad, is that we don't have a good enough alternative. although, u KNOW there are competent people in society that could handle the positions.

[drchaos]

Closer examination of the political situation is the people you want in government try ... and end up doing stuff like working in NGO's cause it so fracking frustrating dealing with these parasites.

[hong kong phooey]

Yup land owners will probably raise even higher than new property tax levels to make ah extra buck ... PNM shooting their grass roots supporters in the foot again.

Dotish vote lock dong so wha' yuh expeck?

most of them dont own sheit
and the ones that do are the old timers who would have voted for a bullfrog instead of someone else, if that what the pnm placed in their electoral district.

[boosted_wrx]

Why does it seem like we living in a communist society ? The government suppose to listen to the people and do things for the betterment of them not things to make their lives harder, people finding it had to make ends meet and stupid ppl brain washing themselves that the government doing the best things based on numerous stupid factors, remember we put them there and we should have the final word to stand up for each decision they make that we don't need

[shake d livin wake d dead]

Awaits the price of doubles to increase...ud see

[Miktay]

Why does it seem like we living in a communist society ? The government suppose to listen to the people and do things for the betterment of them not things to make their lives harder, people finding it had to make ends meet and stupid ppl brain washing themselves that the government doing the best things based on numerous stupid factors, remember we put them there and we should have the final word to stand up for each decision they make that we don't need

Big Gubbament ~= socialism/communism

[sMASH]

[The_Honourable]

^^^ Nice

Wonder when that collection form is filled out if we will get a signed copy.

[sMASH]

I'm thinking, that is just the survey, which will be submitted to the office. In the office, admins will file them and arrange them and update them into an online database.
When they is done, another team will go through an ad actually give an assessment, then probably them or another person will give a value. Which will then go to go get signed, approved and counter signed. And then updated into the system, then u are sent a figure backdated so u hadda rush and pay it.

I'm not seeing a place for a dollar value.


All the same, I want a copy of what they fill out.
Then when the tax bill is forwarded, a break down of what lead to what figure.

[The_Honourable]

Property tax to raise $500 million

Approximately 400,000 households in T&T, expected to begin paying property taxes this year, will raise around $500 million in revenue for the Government.

This, according to the Estimates of Revenue available on the ministry of finance website.

At a post-cabinet press conference this week, Finance Minister Colm Imbert announced that notice of assessment of properties for collection of the Property Tax will be posted or hand-delivered to owners and occupiers within the next week or two.

The issuing of notice of assessments will be the first step towards collection of the property tax which was announced in the Government’s first (2016) budget.

It was not collected that year, but was re-stated in the 2017 budget for collection starting this year.

In response to questions sent to the Ministry of Finance, the communications unit said the Valuation Division at the ministry has commenced the necessary preparations and Valuation Return Forms will be made available to residential property owners first.

The ministry said the hiring process for the 248 job vacancies had also started and should be completed soon, adding that not all 248 of those hired will be field staff.

The 248 people would be hired on a three-year contract, though ministry officials did not give an estimated cost for the labour component of property tax collection.

Forms are expected to be mailed to property owners, as well as they will be available at the Valuation Division Offices and via the ministry’s website.

Opposition members have raised concerns over implementing the tax during an already uncertain financial period for citizens, with MP Bhoe Tewarie asking why the property tax was being implemented during this tough economic period.

In Parliament Friday, Tewarie said “T&T’s 600,000 workers have become the working poor, the middle class is under real strain...given all the circumstances being faced today, is this the most opportune time to institute this additional tax?”

According to economist Roger Hosein, Government had lost about $80 million per year in property taxes since the decision was taken by the People’s Partnership coalition in 2010 to suspend the collection of the tax.

Hosein had said then, using Central Bank figures, if we compared what existed today with the 2006-2007 fiscal year, we were losing about $80 million a year in property tax.

•In fiscal year 2008, the revenue generated from property tax was 92.9 million.

•In fiscal 2007, the revenue generated from the property tax was 102.5 million.

In an interview this week, when asked about the disparity between his then estimate of $80 million and the Government’s figure of $500 million, Hosein said the figures never really crossed 80 to 100 million

“The minister is probably going to update the registry of houses and collect tax from that expanded registry,” said Hosein.

He said the estimate of 400,000 seemed like a reasonable estimate based on the current population figure.

Calculating the rate of tax

The 2009 Property Tax Act makes it the responsibility of the Board of Inland Revenue to prepare a roll of all lands liable for taxation under the act, the valuation of which is to be done by the Commissioner of Valuations. According to section 11 of the Act: The tax payable on land shall, in respect of the annual taxable value of the land, be based on the percentages set out in Schedule I.”

Schedule I makes it clear that the rate of tax on a residential property is three per cent, on commercial property is five per cent, industrial property is six and three per cent, while agricultural property is one per cent.

In an explanation of how the tax would work, following concerns in 2016, Imbert had said that using the existing law, the tax on a $1 million property would be about $1,500 a year.

Imbert had then pointed out a frequent mistake that people were making, which he said was that the Property Tax, as presently configured, was based on rental values not capital values.

He said a $1 million apartment or house, for example, would rent for about $4,500 per month, or $54,000 a year. The annual taxable value (ATV) is calculated by deducting ten per cent for voids, resulting in a taxable value of $48,600.

The rate of three per cent for residential properties is then applied to this, resulting in an annual Property Tax of $1,458 and this is using the existing formula, which we intend to revisit.

The act also allows for property owners to query assessment values.

At section 22, the act allows a property owner to object to assessments on grounds that include:

• that the annual rental value of any land appearing in the Valuation Roll is incorrect or unfair having regard to other annual rental values therein;

• that land should not have been included in the Valuation Roll;

• that land omitted from the Valuation Roll should be included therein;

• the assessed tax is incorrect; and

• that the Valuation Roll is incorrect in some other material particular.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2017-03- ... 00-million

[bluesclues]

Rent afi raise by $250-500. Renters prepare thy angus and also say thank you to the pnm for putting ur vote to good use.

[sMASH]

i not sure, but i think just like how the fuel subsidy is being removed in stages, i remember T&TEC was supposed to gradually increase their rates. not sure if that is completed or yet to complete.

[shake d livin wake d dead]

spoke to a person and that increase in TTEC rates would be around the same time to begin paying property tax...shrugs shoulders..

[Trinislacker]

spoke to a person and that increase in TTEC rates would be around the same time to begin paying property tax...shrugs shoulders..

Is it TTEC or the RIC responsible for these rates?

[car]

spoke to a person and that increase in TTEC rates would be around the same time to begin paying property tax...shrugs shoulders..

In 2007 when I paid land tax the document was forwarded to WASA and my water rates increase.
So I assume the same would happen to people that still paying $10 and $80 a quarter when the evaluation is done.
Business place that still paying domestic rates will now be paying commercial rates.

[hong kong phooey]

spoke to a person and that increase in TTEC rates would be around the same time to begin paying property tax...shrugs shoulders..

In 2007 when I paid land tax the document was forwarded to WASA and my water rates increase.
So I assume the same would happen to people that still paying $10 and $80 a quarter when the evaluation is done.
Business place that still paying domestic rates will now be paying commercial rates.

the thing is if wasa realy wanted to make more money they could implement the meter system and could charge accordingly.
Getting charged due to the number of washrooms a house has is unfair.

[greggle71]

I could live with a land and building tax but was never in favour of using the rental value as a basis. Developing my own space which indirectly increases my utility consumption should be reflected in my utility bills and not the property value. I prefer they meter my water so I could control that spend rather than a new bathroom that increases my property value and net tax.

What makes better sense is a square feet calculation based on a zoning definition, residential, commercial or industrial. Within each type you create tiers based on infrastructure and environmental factors.

If I want to live in Westmoorings or Valsyn or Gulf View which may be the top tier residential zone then based on my square footage I will know what is payable etc.

It also gives governments the impetus to continuously enhance infrastructure within zones to move communities up through the tiers and increase revenue. Better roads and utility supply, crime, education, access to health facilities, sporting and green spaces are some of the indices that can be factored.

The proposed scheme just creates complexities that causes confusion.

[De Dragon]

I could live with a land and building tax but was never in favour of using the rental value as a basis. Developing my own space which indirectly increases my utility consumption should be reflected in my utility bills and not the property value. I prefer they meter my water so I could control that spend rather than a new bathroom that increases my property value and net tax.

What makes better sense is a square feet calculation based on a zoning definition, residential, commercial or industrial. Within each type you create tiers based on infrastructure and environmental factors.

If I want to live in Westmoorings or Valsyn or Gulf View which may be the top tier residential zone then based on my square footage I will know what is payable etc.

It also gives governments the impetus to continuously enhance infrastructure within zones to move communities up through the tiers and increase revenue. Better roads and utility supply, crime, education, access to health facilities, sporting and green spaces are some of the indices that can be factored.

The proposed scheme just creates complexities that causes confusion.

Why did you come here and speaking sensibly?
This is PNM country, so the most complex, confusing, hardest to administer will be the go to, don't you know that?

[sMASH]

not-the-mama will reference leekoko for u... (or what ever it is the saying that they say.)