Monies collected from the proposed Property Tax will be used to fund Local Government bodies and Regional Corporations.
This is according to Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Brian Manning, who was speaking during debate on a Motion to Adopt the Report of the Joint Select Committee on the Miscellaneous Provisions (Local Government Reform Bill) 2020, in the Parliament on Friday.
He said the Board of Inland Revenue will determine the annual taxable value using the annual rental value, less deductions, such as void or loss of rent of 10% of the annual rental value.
Minister Manning explained how the applicable tax rate would be applied to the annual taxable value for agriculture and residential properties.
However, Member of Parliament for Oropouche West, Davendranath Tancoo, questioned the validity of Minister Manning’s calculations of the property tax. He also questioned the disparity in the disbursement of funds among the Regional Corporations, adding that the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Corporation was allocated $99 million for the year 2022. MP Tancoo said there was no clarity or explanation about how the legislation would address that issue.