00:00So, what I would not want to happen is a situation where people make their property tax payments
00:05online and it is not properly recorded as revenue in a consolidated fund and then we'll
00:12get another report from the Auditor General that will start another set of confusion on
00:16Bacchanal.
00:17But we're very close to a solution with respect to this matter.
00:21Finance Minister Colm Imbert in the Senate responding to an urgent question from Independent
00:26Senator Dr. Paul Richards regarding the long lines being experienced by those trying to
00:32meet the September 30th deadline for the payment of the residential property tax.
00:38In terms of locations, there would be no additional locations before the 30th of September, although
00:48efforts are being made to expand the capacity of existing locations.
00:54The Finance Minister said additional payment options can be a very complex matter.
00:59Minister Imbert explained that under the Audit and Exchequer Act, property tax is revenue
01:04and as such, banks cannot deduct a service charge for online payments the way they do
01:11for online payments of water and electricity bills.
01:15So, what we have been looking at with respect to the commercial banks is a system where
01:21they would act as a collector of revenue, so that someone would make an online payment,
01:28the banks will collect those payments of property tax, record them appropriately, identify who
01:34paid for what, when and so on, and then remit the amount paid in full to the Treasury to
01:43go into the consolidated fund for it to be recorded as revenue.
01:47The Finance Minister said the proposal for the online payment of the property tax, which
01:51is also meant to include the use of debit and credit cards, would involve the banks
01:56sending a bill to the Finance Ministry for the service charge.
02:01But we are almost at the end of a solution that would deal with both, so that when you
02:05pay online, automatically within a minute or two, you'll get a receipt confirming that
02:09you've paid this tax, which you can then present to the Inland Revenue if there's a query,
02:15and also it will be properly recorded as revenue.
02:18Senator Richards posed a follow-up question about the September 30th deadline.
02:23An extension being considered, given all the circumstances that you have outlined here today.
02:28That is actually urgent question number three from Wade Mark, and I don't want to get between
02:34you and Wade Mark, so let's wait for him to ask that question.
02:38The time for urgent questions ended, and as such, Leader of Opposition Business Wade Mark
02:43was not able to ask his urgent question.
02:47Jule Brown, TV6 News.
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