(Trinidad Express) Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has called for a total repeal of the Property Tax Amendment Act.
She argued that people are under more pressure now than they were 15 years ago when this “poverty” tax was first introduced.
In her contribution to the Property Tax Amendment Bill 2024 at the Parliament sitting on Monday, the former prime minister also made it “categorically clear” that she owns no property abroad.
She was responding to Finance Minister Colm Imbert who said Opposition members pay exorbitant property taxes in other countries where they have properties.
Persad-Bissessar said that in 2009 Dr Keith Rowley stood up against the Patrick Manning government and said the property tax was a burden to the people.
She read Rowley’s words from Hansard: “I know many people in this country for whom $100 is much money, there are many people in this country who are struggling to make ends meet and such persons faced with an increase whether $200, $600 or $500, they are living at the margin.”
She said Rowley spoke about the anger of his Diego Martin West constituents over the tax and questioned what happened to Rowley in the past 15 years that changed him from fighting for his constituents to now saying that the property tax is a priority.
She emphasised that her position remains unchanged – she was against the tax 15 years ago, and today.
“I am of the view that this tax is not property tax, I believe it is poverty tax that will further bring citizens to pauperisation,” she said.
Tax revolts
The tax is form of “open warfare” at a time when the country is experiencing so much hardship with Government-induced high prices and inflation, Persad-Bissessar added.
The Government, she said, should bring a Bill to repeal the Property Tax Act.
“We are totally against the property tax, because it is an unfair tax. It will cause more hardship on the population, we do not support whether it is 0 per cent, 2%, 3%, any per cent, the whole Property Tax Act must go. We say no to it,” she said.
According to Persad-Bissessar, “tax revolts” in other countries led to regime changes, adding that history is replete with revolutions and wars that began because ordinary people refuse to pay unjust unfair taxes to tyrant leaders.
She added that since the beginning of civilisation, tax resistance has caused the collapse of several empires, including Egyptian, Roman, Spanish and Aztec.
Persad-Bissessar narrated the biblical story of Zacchaeus — a short, rich and corrupt chief tax collector.
She said when Jesus passed through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem, Zacchaeus climbed up a sycamore tree to see him, because he was so short.
Persad-Bissessar said Jesus went to the tree and invited Zacchaeus as his guest.
And after this encounter, Zacchaeus said: “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
Persad-Bissessar said in this holy time of Easter, this story symbolises Jesus’ open arms to all “and therefore I call upon this Government to do like he did…to repeal and remove this wicked tax once for all and call the elections now and take yourself out of Government.”
Glaring errors
Persad-Bissessar also blasted the Government on its speed to bring the Property Tax Amendment Bill and all its glaring errors.
The legislation, she said, is like “property invasion” as the Government is moving swiftly to grab up as much taxes as it can.
The Opposition had warned about the unfair calculation of the property tax, and even in the face of objections from the population on the calculation of Annual Rental Value Imbert has ignored this, she said.
Persad-Bissessar also criticised Imbert’s statement that the tax will be deferred for those who are unable to pay such as pensioners, the elderly and the vulnerable on social support.
“This is where they are going to defer it and when you die it becomes a death tax…it is an inheritance tax because your successor in title will become an inheritor of the tax, they will have to pay it,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar further objected to a provision whereby the minister, subject to negative resolution, could amend the schedule and make changes to the rate for residential property tax.
At present, she noted, it is an affirmative resolution, so the minister must come to the Parliament before any changes are made.
Persad-Bissessar said she disagrees with changing this as she questioned why the Government does not account to the people.