Kamla dismisses Rowley

Speaking following a Kiddies Carnival prize-giving function at the Siparia constituency office in Penal yesterday, Persad-Bissessar pointed out that the tax’s non-implementation benefitted the entire nation. “We campaigned that we would not implement that tax and we kept that campaign promise.

In fact we passed a law to waive it in 2011-2015, so I would say he’s asking questions about how much taxes we paid on our properties, it’s the same taxes that he paid on his property...we all benefitted, it was not personal to any one of us,” she said. Persad-Bissessar continued: “We paid the same taxes that he paid on his property, in other words, everybody in the country including him, every householder, everyone with property...so it was not special to any person, it was for all of Trinidad and Tobago.” She reiterated that home owners could not be prosecuted for not completing the valuation return forms issued by the Ministry of Finance saying, “according to the law, there is no compulsion on anybody to fill out that form.” “The form has no name, it has no address, there is nothing in the law that forces you to fill out that form and if you do not, there is nothing that can be done,” she said.

Persad-Bissessar said the law which was rushed through Parliament in 2009, is draconian, is a tremendous burden to be inflicted on the country at a time of recession and must be resisted by all.

She said the Opposition’s education campaign against the property tax would heighten over the weekend with a motorcade and rally in Central Trinidad constituencies.

“The government is entitled to put out any propaganda they wish but it is clear they are concerned, as they should be, by the fact that citizens are very much against this tax.” She then promised, “We will challenge it in Parliament, we will challenge it in the courts, I have a team of lawyers working on this issue now as we intend to pursue this matter in the courts. It is unconstitutional and an unfair and unjust burden on taxpayers and we intend to fight it.”