Caption: Colm Imbert. Photo: T&T Parliament
By Alicia Chamely
AN attack on the little man is how Member of Parliament for Diego Martin North/East Colm Imbert is describing the 2025 Finance Bill.
Speaking at an Opposition press conference on Wednesday at the Office of the Opposition Leader, Port of Spain, Imbert expressed his concerns over the 2025 Finance Bill, set to be debated in Parliament on Friday, saying there were “some dangerous things in here.”
Imbert said the Bill sought to implement a series of higher fines and raised taxes, which would essentially put strain on the earning power of the public by increasing the cost of living.
Using the example of increased NIS contributions he said, “Clause eight implements the first increase in national insurance contributions that was in the budget, and it changes the contribution rate from 16.2% of insurable earnings to 19.2%.”
He said, “Let me give an example, the NIS contribution of a typical wage earner earning $7,400 a month. That average will increase from $86.40 per week, or $374 per month, $202.40 per week, or $443 per month, an increase of 90%.”
Imbert said the increase for operating a vehicle for a purpose that is not registered for, such as PH taxis, was “targeted at the small man.”
He said, “This is aimed at those little white vans that you see around, the unregistered taxis, the fine will now be $12,000.” Imbert added that this was an unreasonable move that should not be implemented until the public transport system was improved.
Addressing the Landlord Surcharge, Imbert said the process of registering as a landlord was saturated with bureaucracy, was unfair on people who may be renting a room or an annex on their property for a little extra income, and payment would be five times more than the former property tax payments.
Imbert said, “Why on earth would the government do this? You have to register as a landlord, so all these little people who rented a room in the house just to earn a little extra change. This is targeting them, all these elderly people renting a little annex. This is targeting them. You have to register. You have to fill out a form. You have to identify who the tenant is. If the tenant changes, you have to go and register again. This is what this government is doing to little people in this country.”
Comparing the Landlord Surcharge and the Property Tax, he said, “Let’s use a $5,000 a month apartment as an average people rent for much less than that idea. So that’s 60,000 a year. And when you do the maths. You take out the 10% for voids, this is what was in the Property Tax Act, and then you apply the 2% rate, you would get property tax of $1,000 this is now going to double that. Sorry, the landlord surcharge is going to be five times what the property tax was.”
“They just want to punish people. AND THEN clause 91 introduces the electricity surcharge, again, increasing the cost of living for everybody. And then this one, clause 97 includes, introduces a tax on plastic bags and packages. Cost going up. Cost of Living going up again,” he said.
Imbert further expressed his concerns over what he considered “an attack on democracy” with Clause 15 of the Bill which allows for two political appointees to be placed on the board of Inland Revenue.
He also criticised the government’s move to increase the limit of foreign loans by $15 billion, moving the current limit from $30 billion to $45 billion, which he described as “very, very, dangerous.”
