PP pledged to kill PNM property tax, not abolish all land and building tax: Moonilal

File: Roodal Moonilal in Parliament

Roodal Moonilal confirmed to the Express newspaper on Sunday that the People's Partnership campaigned to "axe" the property tax that the Manning PNM administration was trying to impose on citizens and did not renege on that promise. 

However the Government Chief Whip and Deputy Leader of the United National Congress (UNC) told the paper the intention was never to totally scrap land and building taxes.

Moonilal was responding to an Express story in which Finance Minister Larry Howai stated that the government is considering introducing some form of property tax. Some people have interpreted that to mean that the government is reneging on its promise.

Moonilal said that is definitely not the case. "The commitment was to axe the property tax, not to abolish land and building taxes," he told the paper.

He added that the population is very eager to pay taxes for land and building. "In fact, there are some people in the upper echelons of society...who are almost ashamed they are not paying land and building tax, so people are demanding that we (bring back) land and building taxes, but not the oppressive one (like the PNM's)," Moonilal told the Express. 

Moonilal explained that the campaign to "axe the tax" referred to the oppressive tax that the former administration was going to impose in 2009. He said the partnership was "vehemently against" that tax. 

He noted that the government had promised to revise the land and building taxes regime, so after two years it is possible to look at the issue to determine a model that can be used.

"Minister Howai is determined to bring some conclusion and look at a land and building tax regime, but certainly not a property tax regime, which we believed to have been authoritarian, dictatorial and oppressive," he said.

He said there is ongoing discussion among Parliament's Legislative Review Committee, the Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Attorney General and other relevant departments to not only repeal the 2009 Act, but to reform and reintroduce a new land and building tax regime. He added that he hoped a conclusion would be met by September or October.