The government of Barbados has delivered on a promise to implement the municipal solid waste tax on an already overtaxed Barbadian. The tax is introduced in the Municipal Solid Waste Tax Bill, 2014 as, “There shall be charged, levied and collected on the site value of improved lands”.
There has been a lot of discussion about the tax but BU is confident Barbadians -for the good of country – will dig into savings and ask the bankers to increase limits on credit cards.
Barbadians are aware the government is cash strapped and is currently on a quest to find creative ways (used loosely) to generate revenue by levying taxes hither thither and yon. Some argue successive governments have not done enough to efficiently collect taxes owed to the crown. Several blogs have been posted to BU identifying Courts Barbados, a leading furniture and appliance store in Barbados who owes BD$25 million in VAT. The article $200 owed has appeared in the traditional press further highlighting government’s leaky collection management system. Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler in his defence recently established the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) whose remit is to efficiency address tax collection. Government agencies are not known in Barbados for being efficient but the BRA has the opportunity to be a trail blazer.
Barbadians will bombard the call-in shows, post to social media but will PAY the solid waste tax, do not look for any civil disobedience to match the Poll Tax Riots. The tax is a burden to many at this time and was made so by poor implementation. BU understands the tax invoices were mailed on June 15, 2014 and according to the Act were due on June 30, 2014. After a public outcry the authorities announced the date extended to July, 2014. It is inconceivable our policymakers could not have anticipated the window to pay was too narrow and proactively extend the payment date to pre-empt wasteful public discussion.
Many questions have been asked about the quality of decision to impose a solid waste tax. At the top of the list is the obvious decision by landlords who will pass on the tax to tenants. Then there is the middleclass who have had to give up a significant chunk of disposal income in the last six years to shore up government’s revenue. It is this same group who has to find tuition fees, pay mortgages, car loans etcetera. The end result is a fall in the quality of life for many Barbadians. Often times if it is made clear why a sacrifice has to be made many will gladly do so. Are the majority of Barbadians confident the government by example and quality decision making is on the right path?
What has informed the decision by government to levy a tax on Barbadians who have toiled to create wealth by owning property in the last 20 years? Who the hell penalizes individuals who purchase property especially given the history of the dominant Black population? Senator McClean’s assurance that “… a property with a site value of $100,000 with a solid waste tax of 0.3 per cent means that the property owner will have to pay a tax of $300 per annum. The point I am making is that some people were saying that it was going to be a very large sum of money, but that is not the case. So basically what this tax is intended to do, is help Government pay for the cost of our growing consumption and generation of garbage whether it is household waste or commercial waste.” – Not for everyone does not show sympathy at all. The solid waste bills have started to litter mailboxes.
One can only assume the Municipal Solid Waste Tax describes the sorry state of government’s finances. Who the hell tax the property of a fledgling middleclass?
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