By Alicia Chamely

MUCH ado about nothing.

This is how Member of Parliament for Diego Martin North/East Colm Imbert is describing decisions and statements made by the government regarding the economy and its institutions.

Imbert shared his opinions during a press conference held by the Opposition Leader Penelope Beckles at her official office on Charles St. Port of Spain on Tuesday.

Imbert who served as Finance Minister between 2015 and 2025 also said the scrapping of the Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority (TTRA) and property tax was reckless as they were to be key revenue earners for government.

Imbert said, “The whole point of the TTRA is to increase revenue and cut out tax evasion. If the new government decides it doesn’t want to go ahead with the TTRA, then they can say goodbye to $5 billion in additional revenue, which is desperately needed. These sorts of actions in my view are just reckless.”

Imbert continued, “Similarly, with property tax, it used to be land and building taxes, it has a purpose, to finance local government infrastructure, it has always been so. The cities always collected property tax, the city of Port of Spain, the city of San Fernando, they called it house rates, it was just another name, and it was used for the development of the cities.

“So, if the new government wants to give that up then fine, they will have to find another source. I heard them say they will finance local government bodies in another way. I would love to see how they are doing that, because they also said they are cutting tax.”

He added, “When you look at their promises, it’s all about reducing revenue and increasing expenditure. How are you going to balance a budget doing that, I would like to see. It was all populism and irrational promises, but we will see how it goes.”

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the TTRA and property tax will be no more in deciding first moves of her government.

She said the TTRA was to be used as a weapon against private citizens and government will instead focus on strengthening the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR).

Persad-Bissessar who had campaigned heavily against the property tax also had questioned where the money from the property tax previously collected went.

Imbert took the opportunity to address the government’s statement about the country being in a $4.42 billion deficit for the month of May.

He said, “It’s a much ado about nothing. One of the first statements made is that there is a huge deficit for the month of May 2025, as if that is a revelation. If you went and checked the month of May for the last 30 years you will see there is always a huge deficit for the month of May.”

Imbert explained a large source of revenue for the country was corporation tax, which includes taxes from the petroleum sector. These taxes are paid on a quarterly basis, December, March, June and September. He said as much as $7 billion can be collected at the end of each quarter.

He said royalty payments for the country’s oil and gas are paid in the fourth month, so a month after the quarter.

Imbert said towards the end of a quarter, until the government receives further taxes, they will run at a deficit.

He said, “May is always the driest month. August will also be a dry month. That is what the government overdraft is for, we know cash flow isn’t uniform”

 “So all that carrying on about a huge deficit in the month of May is unnecessary,” the former finance minister said.

At her first post Cabinet media briefing, Persad-Bissessar said the previous administration left Trinidad and Tobago with a deficit of over $4 billion in May, and a projected $11 billion for 2025.

She said there were several unpaid cheques within the system which when paid would carry the deficit to that $4.42 billion figure.