Barbados solid waste tax payment deadline extended
From Caribbean360
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Friday July 18, 2014, CMC – Government has waived all payments of the Barbados Municipal Solid Waste Tax for pensioners with property valued under BDS$190,000 (One BDS dollar = 50 US cents) and pushed back the payment deadline for others.
This new tax was announced last year with a sweeping .03 per cent charge on the site value of real estate properties across the island, but there have been widespread complaints about the financial burden it places on residents.
The Barbados Today online newspaper reported that Cabinet agreed to the exclusion of those pensioners at its Tuesday meeting, and in addition decided to cut this tax by half where it applies to agricultural land.
First half of the tax was due in June, but that date was reset to July 28, now Cabinet further decided to push that deadline back to December 31.
“This means that taxpayers can now pay at a more leisurely and affordable rate,” the epaper quoted a senior government official saying.
The Municipal Solid Waste Tax is regarded as levy designed to raise money for a cash-strapped government, and not one applied to garbage collection as there are already other waste disposal taxes.
Since the tax department began sending out payment notices in June, there have been complaints from all sectors of society.
“It is just another tax grab to close a deficit that we have been warning them for six years has become unsustainable and uncontrollable… this tax is hurting people who should not be hurt,” said Mia Mottley, leader of the opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) at a public rally this week.
“And this tax comes on the heels of 27 other taxes or fees that have been increased or imposed by this government since January 2008,” she added.
The BLP has called for a repeal of the tax, and since Monday has been holding meetings and mobilising the public against the levy.
The party says it will make an announcement on whether street protests will be held during a mass rally scheduled to be held on Sunday.
For more on this story go to: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/barbados-solid-waste-tax-payment-deadline-extended?utm_source=Caribbean360%20Newsletters&utm_campaign=f210143e0e-Vol_9_Issue_143_News7_18_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_350247989a-f210143e0e-39393477
