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  • 1 year ago
Seeking to send a strong message on its rejection of the Property Tax, the Joint Trade Union Movement destroyed taxation forms at two locations, one being the Board of Inland Revenue.


JTUM accuses the government of fooling the population, as it recalls that it was Dr. Keith Rowley who, before he took office, said his government would not reintroduce the Property Tax.


Alicia Boucher has the details.
Transcript
00:00Members of the joint trade union movement tore up their property tax forms and discarded
00:09them in front of the Inland Revenue Division of the Ministry of Finance on Friday morning.
00:15They repeated the acts on the foreshore, this time burning the documents.
00:20Before issuing its statement at the first location, JATOM sought to provide context
00:25through a statement made by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley when he was in opposition,
00:30where he refuted claims attributed to Prakash Ramada that a PNM government will bring back
00:35the property tax which he referred to as dreaded.
00:38Let me make it abundantly clear, the property tax has already been dealt with.
00:45So for anybody in the government now to be telling the population that this PNM coming
00:50into office will bring back that tax is the highest level of dishonesty.
00:55JATOM leader Ansel Roger now calls it a convenient statement that was made to get the PNM into
01:01office.
01:02And according to him, many people whom he says are not in support are now being threatened
01:07with hefty fines and even the loss of their properties if they do not pay the tax.
01:13This is a government that is ruling by fear, fear mongering.
01:17They drive fear in the hearts of the citizens and those citizens have to comply.
01:24Today we are rejecting this tax.
01:27Members of JATOM, we are outright rejecting this.
01:31And we are saying to the government, have a heart.
01:35JATOM accuses the government of misleading and fooling the population.
01:40It further states that commercial and industrial properties should have instead been the focus
01:45point.
01:46We maintain that in this period of hardship, the first people you want to really put that
01:53tax on is those who benefit from it.
01:57Those who rent to even you, the government, but you see, they are about saving their friends.
02:05According to Roger, some of the people conducting valuations are not qualified to do so.
02:10And he calls the manner in which the valuations are done as intrusive, such as the type of
02:15tiles being used.
02:18He says business development like malls sending up the rental value of the residential properties
02:24is another unfair aspect.
02:26According to them, I now have to pay a rental value, a percentage of a rental value for
02:32which I collect no rent.
02:34And while the tax has been promoted by the government as a means to earn additional revenue,
02:39which is expected to be utilized by the regional corporations, JATOM blames the government.
02:45Regardless of what they say, the fact of the matter is that the government is earning less
02:49revenue because of their failed economic policies.
02:54JATOM says it is unacceptable for the ordinary citizen to pay the price for that.
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