Winston Dookeran told local media Tuesday the Government of Trinidad & Tobago will not be collecting property taxes for the 2012 fiscal year.
He made the comment at a post-budge discussion with the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
“We do not anticipate we will be able to collect any land and building taxes this year, and, as a result, we have not budgeted for it,” the Guardian newspaper quoted the minister as saying.
The property tax issue has been a highly charged political matter. The People’s Partnership campaigned heavily against what it called an oppressive tax imposed by the Manning PNM government and pledged to “axe the tax” once it took office.
It has kept that promise to far and has promised to go back to the old system of land and building taxes. However Dookeran explained that in order to do that they government must first clear some legal hurdles.
He said those matters have not yet been satisfactorily addressed "and we cannot return to the land and building taxes unless we are able to get over these hurdles and, as a result, we have not budgeted for the collection of any land and building taxes this year.”
He added, “It was a policy position taken. You take a policy position and then you look at how you implement that policy.
“When we went to implement the policy, we realised that there were legal challenges which we had to overcome. Until we overcome those hurdles, we will not be in a position to collect the taxes.
"But we have said that we are not going back to the property tax and we will implement the land and building tax.”
Wade George, a partner at the accounting firm, Ernst and Young, suggested that the country is losing millions of dollars in potential revenue by not charging the taxes.
“By some estimates, the country has forgone somewhere between $300 and $400 million by it not being in a position to collect land and building or property taxes and that is money that the Government can use,” he said.
Dookeran agreed that the tax continues to be a challenge for the Government. However he said the loss of the potential revenue is not hurting the Government’s revenue overall.
He said the government's plan is not place additional burden on the population but rather to establish the framework to allow the economy to grow.
Dookeran said the government intends to collect all taxes owed and also pledged that whenever the Government owes people money, including VAT refunds, that debt is paid in a timely fashion.
“I am from the old school. My mother taught me if I owe you, I should pay you and if you owe me, you should pay me,” Dookeran said.
He made the comment at a post-budge discussion with the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
“We do not anticipate we will be able to collect any land and building taxes this year, and, as a result, we have not budgeted for it,” the Guardian newspaper quoted the minister as saying.
The property tax issue has been a highly charged political matter. The People’s Partnership campaigned heavily against what it called an oppressive tax imposed by the Manning PNM government and pledged to “axe the tax” once it took office.
It has kept that promise to far and has promised to go back to the old system of land and building taxes. However Dookeran explained that in order to do that they government must first clear some legal hurdles.
He said those matters have not yet been satisfactorily addressed "and we cannot return to the land and building taxes unless we are able to get over these hurdles and, as a result, we have not budgeted for the collection of any land and building taxes this year.”
He added, “It was a policy position taken. You take a policy position and then you look at how you implement that policy.
“When we went to implement the policy, we realised that there were legal challenges which we had to overcome. Until we overcome those hurdles, we will not be in a position to collect the taxes.
"But we have said that we are not going back to the property tax and we will implement the land and building tax.”
Wade George, a partner at the accounting firm, Ernst and Young, suggested that the country is losing millions of dollars in potential revenue by not charging the taxes.
“By some estimates, the country has forgone somewhere between $300 and $400 million by it not being in a position to collect land and building or property taxes and that is money that the Government can use,” he said.
Dookeran agreed that the tax continues to be a challenge for the Government. However he said the loss of the potential revenue is not hurting the Government’s revenue overall.
He said the government's plan is not place additional burden on the population but rather to establish the framework to allow the economy to grow.
Dookeran said the government intends to collect all taxes owed and also pledged that whenever the Government owes people money, including VAT refunds, that debt is paid in a timely fashion.
“I am from the old school. My mother taught me if I owe you, I should pay you and if you owe me, you should pay me,” Dookeran said.
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