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AG urges property owners to pay outstanding taxes BY KEVA LIGHTBOURNE ~ Guardian Senior Reporter ~ kdl@nasguard.com: Attorney General Michael Barnett yesterday implored members of the public to pay their outstanding property taxes, while pointing out that the public is quite aware of the steps taken by the National Insurance Board to recover monies owed to it. "No government is able to provide services rendered, services that the public require, unless the necessary revenue is raised from the body corporate. "Owners of real property should not ignore their obligations to pay taxes due," he said. Just last week the National Insurance Board brought a group of businesspersons before the courts in a bid to collect over $1.2 million in delinquent NIB contributions. Senator Barnett said the Real Property Tax Act provides many avenues for relief for those persons not able to pay their taxes. But, he said there are many members of the public who are able to pay their real property taxes but simply refuse to do so. "This state of affairs cannot and will not be allowed to persist," the attorney general warned. "Members of the public are no doubt aware of the steps that have been taken by the National Insurance Board to recover monies due to it. A word to the wise is sufficient." Senator Barnett's comments came as he contributed to the debate in the Senate on a compendium of budget bills that were passed late yesterday afternoon. Among them was the Real Tax Amendment Bill. According to Senator Barnett, this bill seeks to extend the definition of owner occupied property to include second homes that may be rented on a seasonal basis. It puts a limit of nine months in any calendar year for which the home may be rented. Secondly, the senator noted that the government proposed to increase the amount of the value of improvements on property before it can come within the definition of unimproved property. He explained that the limit is to be increased from $5,000 to $50,000. The bill also seeks to change the rate of real property tax on the owner-occupied property in excess of $5 million, and for unimproved property and crown leased cays. For owner-occupied property in excess of $5 million, the new rate will be one quarter of one percent, and for unimproved property of $7,500 the tax will be a flat a rate of $100. Additionally, for unimproved property with a value in excess of $7,500, the tax rate is one percent for those improvements up to $10 million and a quarter of one percent on those improvements above $10 million. The government is also seeking to eliminate the present surcharge on those unpaid taxes on those owner-occupied property of $250,000. "We are also providing an incentive for those persons with outstanding real property taxes to pay the same by the end of this calendar year. If the taxes are paid by the end of the year, the treasurer will waive the existing surcharge," Senator Barnett said. Barnett also noted that the bill seeks to change the rate of the surcharge or the rate of interest on unpaid taxes from 10 percent to five percent. Among the bills passed were: Amendments to the Professional Engineers Act, amendments to the Tariff Act, and amendments to the Hotels and Hotel Encouragement Act, International Persons Landholding Act, and the Interpretation and General Clauses Act.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 |
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