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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