Property tax valuators not yet on the field

The deed, certificate of title, a previous land and building tax receipt and utility bills (WASA and TTEC) would help the Commissioner of Valuations in determining a property’s annual rental value.

The ministry also said, “The property tax has been in existence since pre-independence.” However, the ministry said, the former People’s Partnership government, “waived the payment of property tax for the period 2010 to 2015. As such, the tax is payable with effect from 2016.” The ministry added that land tax has been in effect in India, Jamaica, Canada, the United States and Eastern European countries “for quite some time.” In a separate statement, the United National Congress Youth Arm alleged the implementation of the property tax will leave students vulnerable to increased rental fees from landlords and cause a high tertiary education drop-out rate.

At last Thursday’s post-Cabinet news conference, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said landlords’ compliance with the Property Tax Act could have the effect of the rents being charged to their tenants being reduced.

He explained that because the Act allows renters to get into the system to certify the rent they actually pay, their landlords must now declare what that rent is