Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 30/Sep 03:08

Ministers knock ‘hasty’ complaints over property-tax funds

AFTER complaints about not receiving money collected from property tax by Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation chairman Josiah Austin and San Fernando mayor Robert Parris, Minister of Planning, Economic Affairs and Development Dr Kennedy Swaratsingh and Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Khadijah Ameen, have described their comments as hasty and politically motivated, Speaking to Newsday on September 29, Swaratsingh said he had no idea where Austin and Parris got the information that the funds had been distributed. “I never spoke on that,” he said Swaratsingh said the funds, totalling $135,534,838.81 as of May 2, have been transferred to the exchequer account of the Central Bank of TT. “The property tax collected by the inland revenue division, in its capacity as the receiver of revenue, was initially deposited in authorised commercial bank accounts in accordance with section 53 of the financial regulations made under the Exchequer and Audit Act, chapter 69:01. These funds were subsequently transferred to the exchequer account at the Central Bank of TT.” He went into further detail about how the property tax was deposited. “Payments made online were deposited into the authorised commercial bank accounts held at FCB and RBL. Upon receipt, a process of review and reconciliation was undertaken to validate the payments. Where payments were found to be invalid, instructions were issued to the relevant banks for their return to the payer. For valid payments, instructions were sent to the bank to sweep declared funds into the CBTT exchequer account. He said payments made through the district revenue offices and the San Fernando City Corporation were deposited into the authorised RBL account and subsequently swept into the CBTT and brought to account at the treasury division. “Payments received at the POS City Corporation were deposited directly to the CBTT by commercial collection accounts.” He said the same procedure applied to property tax payments received through the THA. Swaratsingh went on to list some of the corporations among which payment collection was “distributed” and their total number of property payments. This included the Arima Borough Corporation’s 4,616 total payments amounting to a $3,957,841.67 collection. In his media release on September 28, Austin cited the corporation’s needs amid increasing financial strain. “...Attempting to meet the needs of our burgesses without the resources we were promised or required. Roads need repairing. Drains need clearing. Public facilities need maintenance. Yet, the financial tools to address these realities are being withheld. “I wish to state that property tax, when fairly assessed and transparently administered, is a just and equitable tax. It is one of the few mechanisms that allows for a direct reinvestment of public funds into local communities. But without proper governance, clear policy, and guaranteed distribution, it fails to achieve its purpose.” He called on the Government to immediately disburse all property tax funds already collected to the corporations from whose jurisdictions they were sourced. Speaking on the issue, Parris said there was a meeting two months ago, in Tacarigua, where the CEOs, chairmen and mayors of corporations met with technical staff to discuss finances ahead of the upcoming budget. He said some CEOs asked if they could request the money that was collected from property taxes and Ameen told them to hold their hand on that and she would get back to them on it. “No one, in the 14 municipal corporations, received any money, PNM or UNC, from the collection of property taxes,” Parris said. Speaking to Newsday during a site visit at WASA’s Mt. D'or booster station on September 29 Ameen called Austin and Parris’ statements politically motivated. “I think, based on their political position, the chairman and the mayor may have been a bit hasty in their statement. Usually, the revenue from one particular year is calculated and given in the next fiscal. The Finance Minister and they are already in that process. “I feel very optimistic when I hear the minister, it could mean that he has already approved it to be given in the upcoming budget.” She said it would be premature for any corporation to say that it has not been given because the distribution process is still ongoing. “I think it’s just overenthusiasm on their part, and perhaps because they feel the need to comment because they belong to a different political party. “But what I can tell you is that I do not treat corporations differently based on their political affiliation. Our fund and support for all our regional corporations remain a focus because we believe in delivering true local governance. I will be working with all chairman regardless of politics.” The post Ministers knock ‘hasty’ complaints over property-tax funds appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.