est. 2007

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Barbadian Property Owners Living Abroad, BEWARE

The following was received from a concerned Barbadian residing overseas – Blogmaster

Dear BU:

I have hesitated to make this matter public before as it involves the accounting system for Barbados Land Tax but my problem may be a test case that is aimed at the Barbados senior property holders living abroad.  Here are the facts: 

1) Timely tax receipts are non-existent and Notices come late so that those abroad cannot take advantage of a 10% discount.

2) Since 2019 a marked increase in discrepancies whereby I was double-billed for an arrears due on the BRA portal  I paid both and contrary to practice, the over-payment was  not brought forward as a credit and that receipt arrived a year late.

3) In 2020 I made 4 International Money Transfers in Barbados dollars to cover 2 residential lots and 2 co-owned agricultural lots to the BRA Account at Central Bank of Barbados and they were subjected to a charge of which I was unaware.

4) There was a misapplication of deposits with the sum for the second tranche applied to the first residential lot which had a higher tax.

5) A record was sent me by email that showed that the deposit on the higher taxed lot had been made before I had made the IMTs

6) Several registered letters and emails have been sent to the Commissioner Lewis Ward and to a senior accounting officer but they are yet to acknowledge BRA’s mistake and remove the penalties and now I am being charged thousands of dollars

7) To make matters worse, I sent in 2021 a wire to Republic Bank to cover the 4 lots – BDS$7808.98 with detailed instructions as to disbursement.  I asked for receipts but none came but in August 2022 3 lots appear with heavy penalties for non-payment of taxes.  The fourth agricultural lot which is being requisitioned was free and clear.  So where did my money go? 

I have all my receipts that showed nothing was owing until the false deposit. It would seem that this matter is not worthy of reply. nor speedy resolve.  But it has serious ramifications for the safety of money transferred to Barbados by taxpayers and investors.  Please warn other senior citizens.

Wire Transfer record – Redacted by BU

352 responses to “Barbadian Property Owners Living Abroad, BEWARE”

  1. Lawson Avatar
    Lawson

    In barbados an overpayment is considered a tip. Lol if you live abroad and do not use your acct at the bank they freeze it. So nobody is travelling because of Covid but the bank freezes your acct because you haven’t used it in 2years how moronic That’s before the govt scoops it for being dormant. Your money could be anywhere from my experience good luck.

  2. Jean Avatar
    Jean

    Pay by credit card if you can. No fees. Have a record and disputes can be done much easier..plus you have 30 days to pay credit card. This works for me

  3. Critical Analyzer Avatar
    Critical Analyzer

    You either need a property manager or a trusted person to locally manage your property affairs or take an annual vacation trip around land tax time to pay taxes and check on your properties.

  4. John A Avatar
    John A

    I would suggest 4 For Sale signs and be done with it.

  5. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @Lawson
    The body is from your neck of the woods.

  6. E.Walrond Avatar
    E.Walrond

    You don’t have to be abroad for these things to happen

  7. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    Because of the tag, senior citizens, my experience with the BRA is widespread incompetence that unfortunately affects a broad group.
    When I finally visited personally and asked a senior manager what the RH was going on, I was told (2019) they had nuff new hires who apparently made errors in the dozens. And said manager spent their time correcting them. I begged them to correct mine (with the documentation required) and the matter was solved quite quickly.

  8. John A Avatar
    John A

    Listen real estate is no longer an investment. Our property prices have not returned to the 2008 prices as yet so all those who had property since the bust have made no capital gain on the property. Add to the cost of carry over the last 14 years and taxes and you have to ask yourself how must you really want to carry on with this so called “investment..”

    If you doubt me run the numbers for yourself.

  9. David Avatar
    David

    Who to blame for the incompetence? Inefficient systems Public Workers have to endure or flawed policy arrangements.

  10. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    Investment in real estate is a long game not so?

  11. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “You don’t have to be abroad for these things to happen”

    no you don’t those on the island who were and are still being ROBBED BLIND are equally at risk and vulnerable…

  12. Lawson Avatar
    Lawson

    Your right NO and that is the problem. He banks in Nepean which doesn’t exist as a city anymore it’s all Ottawa now. That could be part of the confusion if a person doesn’t know what city they live in how long do you think it will take the local gentry to try to play the old schell game

  13. David Avatar
    David

    @lawson

    You are OLD school? The only way to use your account is to travel to visit a bank?

  14. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    The common denominator is that if we CHOOSE incompetent people to run our institutions, based on political affiliation and gender, then we should EXPECT piss poor performance from these institutions.

    BRA was ‘reformed’ by Stinkliar and his cronies…. wunna expected excellence…??? from a man who was struggling with decimals?

    Wuh….
    If the Devil (or ANY woman) ever gets to be in charge of Heaven, wunna can REST ASSURED that it will become Hell… so what wunna expect from the BRA… (..and NIS,, GIS, MoE, QEH, …and every shiite else) ?
    steupsss,,,
    ha ha ha

    The time to worry about the comfort and security of your BED, is while MAKING it …. not when time to lie in it…

  15. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @David
    I don’t know enough to assert blame. Ask Artax, he knows far more, but also likely has LT contacts.
    This is like the ‘crime quandary’, nuff donkeys to pin the tail on, and they are all moving targets, aimed at protecting their interests.

  16. David Avatar
    David

    @NO

    Around and around we go then.

  17. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ David

    Real Estate pre 2008 was a winner here. There was plenty easy money floating around and properties from Cattlewash to the west coast were selling hot! Then came the global bust when all the cheap money and easy money dried up.

    Imagine pre 2008 you could of bought a house in the USA for say $400,000 today and gone in the bank tomorrow and borrowed $80,000 in a home equity loan because it had magically jumped in price overnight! Point is after 2008 the scams and bank shortcuts got tightened up on and globally there was a massive glut of properties because everyone jumped on the real estate wagon to heaven in the 5 years leading up to 2008.

    Our problem however, is unlike some of the USA and other places who have recovered some of the losses due to size and growth, our economy is small and we have not even recovered to pre covid levels of activity yet, farless the 2008 values.

    So yes some will argue real estate is the long game. Question is how long? If we have not recovered to 2008 prices yet in 14 years how long can a man wait? The high end market is all foreign driven with the average Bajan dropping out the game at around $750k for house and land.

    So the question is when if ever will we see the prices being fetched in 2008? Also even if we see them in 20 years, when you subtract the cost of carry over that period how much would you even make then? For the realist real estate both commercial and private are no longer good investments here.

  18. John A Avatar
    John A

    Also I forgot to mention not even rents have returned to the 2008 glory days yet either. Shell for instance was one of the best rental clients, however when they relocated they took a large piece of the rental base with them. If you check people that were getting say $7000 a month in 2008, they are happily taking $5000 today. So even the rental market as an investment is weak as well. Take a drive through the city and see the massive amounts of commercial square footage just closed. Even Broad Street has empty stores on it. Who would ever of thought that could of happened?

  19. Lawson Avatar
    Lawson

    The pound is taking a battering rates are up inflation high that holiday home will be offloaded for cash now by Brit’s unless you are well off then your looking for the distressed sellers

  20. de pedantic Dribbler Avatar
    de pedantic Dribbler

    @David, of course real estate is a long game…..

    There is a lot of blame to go around regarding ex-pats and land … putting aside the obvious fraud and malfeasance by lawyers who were supposed to be trust-worthy actors this issue is one of those very personal affairs (of course as they all are 😎) which screams incompetence and indifference by officials.

    There is really not much one can do about that other then shine a light – as done here – and work to clear out the incompetence.

    And yeah … if you have so much investment back home then maybe it’s in your absolute best interest to plan your busy schedule so that you are on island once every two years or so in order to personally resolve any outstanding matters.

    And of course prepare yourself for the standard BS of envy and other stuff too … which is the island mentality towards expats who are seen as having a nice local stake (or steak even) and are perceived as enjoying their red-meat over-in-away too, not so!

    Just saying.

  21. NorthernObserver Avatar
    NorthernObserver

    @JohnA
    Sadly, you are correct, though the market targeting foreign buyers while not robust, has held its own.
    I had a property bought in 2002, sold in 2007. Didn’t make much, but didn’t lose. Since then the buyer has tried 4 times to sell, and at 15% less than they paid me, without success. And the rental income dropped in half.
    Yet they are some who use the short term rental apps successfully, and do quite well.

  22. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ Lawson

    Yes that is a major concern too as the UK seems to be looming on a recession. I think we need to understand every sector moves in cycles and has its heyday.

    I was reading an interesting article about how the younger money people rent and don’t buy property. Their argument is that its better financially to invest the money one would put in a house and rent someone else’s. When you look at the markets over the 2008 to now period they have a strong argument too.

  23. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ John A
    You make a strong case.
    The way we have destroyed our real estate value is IDENTICAL to the methodology we used to destroy tourism.

    Rather than see the land as the GOOSE, and focus on the golden eggs (agriculture, PRODUCTIVE development, sustainability etc) we SPECULATED on the immediate FUNDS (forex) we could get for the goose.
    Thanks to Arthur and his short sighted ‘Let the land fetch its highest value’ philosophy)
    ie … how much $$$ can we get for the goose?

    Now we have hundreds of acres of USELESS, IDLE land that has been speculated to death – benefitting the OVERSEAS investors, and now sitting useless to the country…and out of reach of citizens.

    Same shiite with tourism …
    Who will provide us with the biggest and best brothels?
    Who will bring the big bucks? (forex)
    Now we have a ‘Tourist industry’ where 70% plus of ALL benefits never even REACH Barbados… and ordinary folks are back where they started in 1960. …..Hewers of wood and drawers of water…

    Brassbowlery exemplified!!

  24. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ Northern

    What is hurting us here too is the cost of carrying a property. Land tax house insurance and maintenance here are not cheap. So you have a high cost of carry and a flat revenue line that is lower than 14 years ago.

    So here is an example. Take say a house bought in Bakers Woods in 2008 for say $700K today probably work $550K. Was renting in 2008 for $3000 a month buy today say $2000 if you lucky.

    Now take $750K over the same period in Fortress, sagicor growth fund or Roybar and see where you stand. So based on that invest and rent is the obvious answer unless you have a beach property or house with an amazing view to sell.

    As I said everything moves in cycles. I remember as a young man going in cave shepherd’s and seeing the entire left side of the ground floor in crystal and China. What there now?

  25. de pedantic Dribbler Avatar
    de pedantic Dribbler

    @John A, re “Even Broad Street has empty stores on it. Who would ever of thought that could of happened?’ … That’s a quite mind blowing statement you made there.

    In simple terms I would say to you that ANYONE who experienced the buzz of activity that was once ROEBUCK St. and saw how that declined as new areas gained commercial prominence; and who then years later watched the growth of Warrens and other newer commercial sites … “would have thought that could have happened”.

    No need to attempt to get into a deep, prolixed analysis of Bridgetown commercial development but suffice to say that clearly what and how Bridgetown and Broad St. specifically was, when we were lads and lasses was slowly and definitively evolving into something much different.

    That Broad St (and very immediate environs) would see closed shops and so on was not out of the imagination although most expected moreso maybe a changed-use landscape; COVID is surely the culprit ‘raison d’être’ here … surely every landlord of commercial space in BIM is HURTING bigly still since that downturn!

    I gone.

  26. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    More illogical misogyny from the sage!

    Men were running things for as far back as anybody can remember.

    When was the world functioning any better than it is now?

    Read the history books! This is a much better world than it was.

    Men in charge. Men in charge. Men in charge. Of every DAMN THING!

    Murder and mayhem EVERYWHERE!

    Even the accounting records of government entities that are not available lapsed back in times when men were in charge. It is difficult to bring them up to date when they are this far behind. Source documents are often nowhere to be found.

    Look at the NIS! When was a woman in charge? In comes one now when the goose is already cooked.

    When was a woman running our hospital before now? Things went down the drain long before that!

    How long has Mia been in charge? Were Chris Sinckler and Freundel Stuart women?

    GTFOH!

    Blasted old fart!

  27. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “Now we have a ‘Tourist industry’ where 70% plus of ALL benefits never even REACH Barbados… and ordinary folks are back where they started in 1960. …..Hewers of wood and drawers of water…

    Brassbowlery exemplified!!”

    you forgot the part where they LIKE IT SO….to brag, boast and feel proud about…..while punching above Kofi Anan’s throw away phrase..

  28. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ Bush Tea

    Exactly. Arthur’s forgot one very important point in his formula. How often will the said land fetch its highest price? So it sells once to a foreigner who holds it for 20 years. This opposed to land in food production generating revenue monthly was his choice. Now we have inflation and massive land masses sitting idle that could be saving us major dollars in Fx food imports. So one could argue he had a short sighted approach.

  29. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    Correction: “sage”.

  30. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    What is funny is the my mom came to my visit home last night and hss been griping about land taxes in Barbados from the time she arrived.

    Quarreling about some receipt she needs to find in order to dispute the last bill she got. Heard it this morning before coming here.

    Poor woman, she also got whacked by a lawyer. The Diasporan experience.

  31. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    NorthernObserver September 8, 2022 8:15 AM

    When the BRA introduced TAMIS, I did not see anything in the system pertaining to partnerships.
    I visited the office to ‘ask a question’ and was told by an officer that there isn’t anything called a ‘partnership.’
    I asked to speak to a manager who told me there wasn’t any e-form available on the portal to facilitate the filing of income tax returns for partnerships…… and, instructed me what to do.
    He also said many of the staff were new and not familiar with the system.

    An acquaintance of mine who worked there, told me rather than ‘transitioning’ from Inland Revenue to the BRA, many of the employees, including him, opted to be transferred to other government departments.

    Prudent management would’ve taken such occurrences into consideration and make the appropriate decisions.

    As a result, ‘government’ was confronted with a situation where there was an ‘mass exodus’ of knowledgeable, experienced employees from one of the island’s most important state agencies, who were replaced by inexperienced personnel, some of whom did not even have knowledge of basic bookkeeping principles.

  32. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ Theo

    The question is has the landtax bills been revised down on average 30% since 2008 to represent the saleable market value of properties? Also with next year being a valuation year will they be increased and if so based on what?

  33. David Avatar
    David

    Pay BRA online!

    https://bra.gov.bb/News/Press-Releases/Land-Tax-Bills-for-the-financial-y.aspx#:~:text=The%20Barbados%20Revenue%20Authority%20advises,issue%20date%20of%20the%20bill.

  34. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ David

    I think 2023 -2024 is the valuation year not 2022-2023. Artax should be able to confirm this though.

  35. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    BU bloggers are smart.

    Some words are used to trigger a person. Even the word ‘God’ can be used as bait.

    At this time I will not use my 5 magic words.

  36. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    The last comment was a reminder land tax payments can be made online using plastic by Barbadians living overseas.

  37. GP Avatar
    GP

    RE Investment in real estate is a long game not so?

    HAS THIS MORON READ ANY SERIOUS PROPER REAL ESTATE BOOKS ?
    HAS THIS MORON STUDIED REAL ESTATE AT ALL?

    MUCH MONEY CAN, AND HAS BEEN MADE IN THE SHORT TERM IN REAL ESTATE?

    JUST AS THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO SKIN A CAT THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO MAKE MONEY INVESTING IN REAL ESTATE.

    THERE ARE SEVERAL “”COKIE CUTTERS”” IN REAL ESTATE INVESTING WHICH DOES NOT INVOLVE HOLDING THE REAL ESTATE OVER TIME.

    RE @David, of course real estate is a long game…..
    THE JACKASS DPD BRAYS AGAIN ABOUT STUFF ABOUT WHICH HE KNOW NAUGHT
    HAS HE INVESTED IN REAL ESTATE? WHEN ? WHERE? HOW? WITH WHAT SUCESS?

    ANOTHER DAY. SAME BULL SHIT GOOD MORNING MIRTH

    REAL ESTATE INVESTING IS NOT LIKE DOING EMERGENCY POST MORTEMS
    NOW TEK THIS DUNG
    BUT I DO KNOW WHAT I AM TAKING BOUT………CAUSE I HAVE DONE IT..

  38. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ David

    So here is another hurdle now that The Environmental Department has placed on home owners that I learnt of from a client this week.

    Suppose you have a plan approved by the Town Planner, apparently now the Enviromental Department can disallow that plan and threaten you with court action if they think the window sizes are too small for the rooms. Mind you this is after you have a signed and stamped approved plan in your hand from TCP! So if you bought a home and say wanted to add a bedroom, even if the TCP approves it the Enviromental Department can take action against you building it if they think the window is too small for the room.

    You ever hear more doo doo than that in 2022? So who really got the final say here at all. STUPES!

  39. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    John A September 8, 2022 9:54 AM

    The BRA’s revaluation year is 2023 – 2024.

    According to the March 14, 2022 Budget, land tax relief would be introduced from fiscal year 2023.

    Effective April 1, 2023, the threshold for residential properties which do not incur land tax was increased from $150,000 to $300,000.
    So, properties valued $300,000 and under will not incur land tax.

    A further increase in the threshold to $400,000 is expected from April 1, 2026.

  40. Lawson Avatar
    Lawson

    John A you are right about the young. Here is a thought name another investment where you use after taxed dollars to enhance your property and the govt raises your taxes because you have increased the value. The person that rents drinks smokes etc are subsidized by that increase and when time gets rough they freeze your rents,hard to get them out if they stop paying and if you cant make your mortgage the bank doesnt care they foreclose.

  41. Lawson Avatar
    Lawson

    Artax the reason that living spaces between 150000 and 300000 are not tax is they try to give them a bill they will just start the engine and drive away

  42. David Avatar
    David

    @Dee Word

    Agree with a lot of what you wrote. The real estate market in Barbados is one where flipping properties at the high end is always a challenge. The homes in the range of 300 to 500k there is more traction.

  43. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    That does not sound or seem correct. We should be executing from the same standards.

  44. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    The other issue we have is that there is a large room stock on the island that came out of the cricket World Cup experience. You will recall ordinary Barbadians were encouraged to extend their homes for the inflow from the tournament – the sell job to Barbadians by the then government was that it would be a legacy effect to the economic benefit of the country.

    This was added to with the boon associated with Airbnb business. Today where are we?

  45. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    David

    We see that a-hole Liz Truss is capping electricity bills. Plans to.

    Where are the neoliberals espousing the “virtues” of free markets. Even has markerts were never free, never fair.

    And how can any sentient being purport to fix supply driven inflation by imposing artificial price caps, as the EU also intends to do with Russian oil and gas.

    Could not have imagined that in this lifetime these feckless reactionary forces could so conjure such a self inflicted crisis. Worse still, the brainless reactions which are guaranteed to make everything worse. Maybe this is purpose work, no?

    A crisis rooted within the exceptionalism, racism, which believes that the West has a divine right to ownership of the world’s resources.

    And then we wonder why Barbados will always face a tenuous existence within this schema, pretend that this system was ever workable.

  46. John A Avatar
    John A

    @David

    I would not of believed it had I not see the date on the approvals from TCP which predated the letter from the Enviromental Dept.

    I even checked with a major architect and they said yes he has seen cases where the Enviromental Dept had issued stop warnings after the plans were approved by the TCP. The architect went on to say that based on what Enviromental is demanding 80% of the houses on the island would be condemned. So once again another red tape mess that stands in the way of economic progress. Where are we on the ease of doing business scale again?

  47. John Avatar
    John

    You may ask what on earth do sea eggs have to do with real estate and land taxes?

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/09/08/divers-report-shocking-absence-of-sea-eggs-along-barbados-coasts/

    When I get back, I will explain, unless someone has figured it out.

  48. David Avatar
    David

    @John A

    The new town planning legislation tables when the Mottley government assumed office in 2018 was not intended to harmonize physical development on the island? Then again, BRA was to centralize tax collection and where are we today?

  49. John A Avatar
    John A

    @ David

    Anyone that doubts our situation i suggest they get the last Red Book by Terra and look at the inventory of properties on hand for sale especially in the condo and town house sector.

    It is a buyers and a renters market now and to buy with what you can rent for makes no financial sense.

    Have you not noticed here how many companies have sold the real estate only to rent it back from the buyer? Truth is the capital can be better used in other areas.

  50. GP Avatar
    GP

    RE @Dee Word
    Agree with a lot of what you wrote.

    BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER DONT THEY?
    WE HAVE TO KEEP OUR :””APPROVED PROVIDERS”” DONT WE…..AS BU TRENDS THE WAY THAT VALUEMD HAS GONE?
    HILARIOUS.

    DEE WORD HAS NOW GONE FROM POLITICAL EXPERT TO EXPERT ON MICROBIOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGY OF COVID THERAPY TO EXPERT ON EMERGENCY POST MORTEMS, AND COMPLICATIONS OF HEAD INJURIES TO REL ESTATE EXPERT

    NOW TEK THIS DUNG AS IS YOUR WONT

    JOIN IN THE DISCUSSION, YOU NEVER KNOW HOW EXPRESSING YOUR VIEW MAY MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

    I AM A PROPHET
    AND I DID NOT KNOW IT LOL

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