Imbert raises concerns over Landlord Surcharge Bill

PETER CHRISTOPHER

Senior Multimedia Reporter

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The Opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) has raised concerns that the proposed landlord business surcharge could create serious security risks and result in potential double taxation for property owners in Trinidad and Tobago.

Former Finance Minister Colm Imbert and Vice President (Legal) of the Heliconia Foundation St Clair O’Neil argued that provisions within the legislation could expose private asset information to public access.

Imbert, O’Neil and former Toco/Sangre Grande MP Roger Boynes participated in a panel discussion examining the bill’s clauses at a PNM town hall meeting in Central Diego Martin Tuesday night, where they also fielded questions from both in-person and online audiences.

“This register, which contains your name, address and property details, is open to inspection by any person who pays a small fee for decades. Section four of the Income Tax Act has imposed a statutory duty of secrecy, making your tax affairs confidential between you and the board of inland revenue. Now, this act links your identity to your income producing assets in a public forum,” O’Neil said. “This creates an insurmountable hurdle to your constitutional rights and privacy and potentially exposes property owners to serious security risk.”

He further argued that, because the surcharge is levied on gross rental income rather than profit, landlords who already pay taxes could face double taxation.

“For example, if you rent an apartment for $4,000 a month, you are hit with $1,200 annual surcharge. Now, you are likely already, and some people are paying income tax on that money already. So you are being taxed twice. The act follows the pattern of a new commercial asset levy, which taxes banks and insurance, where the law explicitly states that tax cannot be deducted from your profits for income tax purposes. Essentially, the government is taking two bites of the cherry, taxing your gross income first, then taxing your profit without allowing you to subtract the surcharge as a business expense,” O’Neil said.

Imbert also criticised the broad definitions within the proposed legislation, suggesting that many landlords could be exposed to penalties due to uncertainty about the requirements.

He questioned whether sufficient consideration had been given to elderly landlords who rent rooms to supplement limited incomes, noting that in some cases their pensions may not cover the $2,500 registration fee.

“The elderly person who has a little annex next to their home, that they might be renting for $1,000 a month if by the 30th of May, they do not register themselves as a landlord, they are liable to a fine of $250,000 and jail for three years. This is madness, madness, as Mr Boynes pointed out, you’re talking about 100,000 landlords in different forms of and fashion, in Trinidad and Tobago, many people are confused. They don’t know what to do,” said Imbert, adding that he has been frequently approached by landlords charging less than $1,000 in rent seeking clarity on whether they are required to register.