By Vernon Daley, Staff ReporterLOCAL GOVERNMENT Minister Arnold Bertram last night announced increases in property taxes which would see the majority of property owners paying between $100 and $200 per month.
Mr. Bertram, however, told the House of Representatives that there were provisions for persons to apply for relief of a portion of their taxes if they believed the taxes were excessive.
Under a formula worked out and approved by Cabinet this week, there are 11 bands in which properties will fall. At the lowest level properties valued at up to $200,000 will attract a flat tax of $600 per annum.
At the mid-range, properties that fall in the $1 million to $2.5 million category will attract a tax of $4,000 while properties at the highest level, which are valued at $200 million and more, will be slapped with a tax of $3 million per annum.
"There is a national consensus that property tax payments of $80 and less per annum paid by 500,000 property owners is no longer practical nor can it make any meaningful contribution to the satisfactory delivery of any of the property related stories," Mr. Bertram said in his statement.
The Minister said at 100 per cent compliance, the Govern-ment would rake in about $2.5 billion from the new taxes. However, he suggested that his Ministry was working with a projected 70 per cent compliance rate which would realise about $1.6 billion, which would cover the cost of local services, including street lighting and farm road repairs.
Opposition members Audley Shaw and Karl Samuda suggested the basis on which the Minister had arrived at the figures was confusing and asked several questions for clarification.
This led Leader of Opposition Business Derrick Smith to ask the Minister to set up a joint select committee that would hear arguments from civil society groups and interested persons on the issue.
"There are a lot more questions than answers," Mr. Smith said.
Minister Bertram rejected the proposal but agreed to a suggestion by Mr. Samuda for the House to have a more extensive debate on the issue at a later date.
Persons who feel their taxes are too high will be given an opportunity under parish review committees to apply for discretionary relief. Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies will next week announce the terms of reference of the committees, which will fall under his Ministry.
In the meantime, Minister Bertram said MPs should make a special attempt to inform their constituents to continue to pay the old taxes until they are formally notified of the new rates.
A mix-up between the Ministry of Local Government and the Inland Revenue Department left many persons confused about how much they should pay in property taxes.
Tax collectorates across the island were up until last week informing persons of new tax rates, based on increased property values. Minister Bertram yesterday reiterated there would no longer be a relationship between the value of a property and the tax it attracts.
In 1992, the total value of properties was $76.4 billion. Based on a recently concluded revaluation exercise carried out by the National Land Agency, this value has increased about seven times and is now $524 billion.
