By Prior Beharry
FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert reveals in the Senate on Monday that his house will cost him $9,000 annually in Property Tax.
And while he admitted that his valuation was high, he said that he intended to pay it. He lives in Maraval.
During his winding up of the Property Tax Amendment Bill that was passed in the Senate on Monday night, Imbert said, “I myself when I saw it, thought it was a little bit on the high side because my house is 35-years-old and it is not architect-designed.
“And I have no intention of objecting. I will pay my $9,000. It would be bad form for me to object to myself for a valuation that I consider to be much too high, much too high, about 50% too high. But that is beside the point,”
He admitted that people were getting valuation that did not make sense to them.
Imbert said, “The problem is at the middle to upper end where people are receiving valuations of rental values for their property, which don’t make sense to them, some of them…”
He added, “The problem is persons who live in middle to upper income areas who are receiving valuations in the range of $15,000 a month, which is an annual rental value of $180,000… upwards a year and more… and they don’t agree. They are saying it’s too much…
“And when you consider somebody who lives in Fairways (in Maraval), for example, like my honourable constituent, Dr Tim Gopeesingh, whose property might justifiably rent for $25,000 a month and he receives… the person receives a notice to that effect, what we are hearing from persons who live in these upscale areas is that rent is too high.
“And then in the noise one hears that the whole method of valuations is opaque, that different properties are getting different values, it doesn’t make any sense and it needs to be explained,” said the minister.
Imbert said he was “accosted” in a hardware by a resident who complained that his property, in an upscale neighbourhood, was valued at $9,000 a year.
He said of the 200,000 properties captured in the valuation role, 65% will attract a property tax of $1,1000 or less.
Imbert said the Valuation Division was very responsible at looked at neighbourhoods specifically in northwest Trinidad such as Federation Park, St Clair, Ellerslie Park, Queen’s Park West, Queen’s Park East, Flagstaff, Bayside Towers, Seaview Terrace, Ocean Avenue by WestMall, One Woodbrook Place, Newtown, uptown Port of Spain, downtown Port of Spain, Port of Spain West, Wookbrook, Belmont, Cocorite, East Dry River, Gonzales and Sea Lots.
He said each of the properties was broken down into five categories:
- Executive;
- Modern;
- Standard,
- Sub-standard; and
- Shack
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