Comptroller of the Inland Revenue Department, Kelvin Pompey, has appealed to property owners to pay their property taxes.
Speaking on WEFM’s Activated Mornings Program Tuesday, he noted that the compliance rate in St. Vincent and the Grenadines for property tax is just below 55%.
This shows that the Government is not collecting close to 45% of property taxes.
He further stated that they have been looking at the legislation, and their administration arrangements and procedures, and working along with the relevant authorities towards taking decisive actions against defaults to property taxes because they are not comfortable with the level of non-compliance.
“I want to make an appeal to property owners. If you live in a house or building or operating a structure, property taxes are due, somebody has to pay, someone has to pay their property tax, and if it’s not you, you need to find out. Our compliance rate for property tax is just below 55%, which, saying that, look, close to 45% of the taxes we should get from property taxes we are not collecting. And it means that persons have not been paying their property taxes, and the statistics are showing that. And I want to strongly encourage persons who have not been paying their property taxes, whose properties are not on the tax roll, to call at the department and to make payments. I think we have been looking at the legislation. We have been looking at our administrative arrangements and procedures and working along with irrelevant authorities. And all that, who are taking decisive action against and defaults of property taxes, because we are not comfortable with a level of non-compliance.”
Property Tax is a tax that is levied on all property owners in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and is a mean of raising revenue for the country.
