Fuad: Tax lures strangers into homes

In a media statement yesterday, Barataria/San Juan MP Dr Fuad Khan pointed out that last Friday’s parliamentary debate on property tax was done in the “hope that the government would provide clarification on the assessment and valuation procedures being used to conduct this exercise.” “Instead, what we were provided with was the usual PNM dance of pussyfooting around the answers, either because they don’t know or they don’t care,” Khan stated, adding that tariffs such as the reintroduction of VAT and the property tax would place an extra burden on the population which already had to grapple with the billions of dollars in debt which government had accrued.

“In its current iteration, the property valuation tax is not only an infringement upon the pockets of our citizens, but also on their right to privacy and safety,” he said and wondered why homeowners were being asked to “invite strangers into our houses” during the “largest crime wave in our history.” “Based on the haphazard manner in which this project is being carried out, coupled with the public outcry against it, I am giving the nation the assurance that if returned to government, I will push for the repeal of this tax to be first on the agenda,” Khan stated.

“At a time when the people are suffering from the mismanagement of the economy by the PNM, for them to be punished for the government’s mistakes is not only cruel but apathetic. A government should be willing to make sacrifices for the sake of the people whom they serve rather than force the people to serve and make sacrifices for the government,” he stated.

Meanwhile, change.org has garnered 2,730 signatures out of a goal of 5,000 for a petition titled “axe the tax again” which will then be presented to the Minister of Finance.

The petition’s founder political activist Phillip Edward Alexander stated that government could not continue to look for revenue shortfalls “in the pockets and savings accounts of the citizenry which is already reeling from depressed incomes, layoffs and reduced cash flow.” “To unleash another tax at this time will be draconian and abusive,” he stated.

“This petition calls on the Minister of Finance and the government of which he is a part to hold off on the implementation of any new taxation and instead calls on government to reduce the national operating costs and to begin the process of identifying and pursuing alternative ways of funding the economy,” he stated.