Old-age land tax burden

THE EDITOR, Madam:

This is an open letter to Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke

THIS IS written in light of the Government’s recent general consumption tax (GCT) reduction, by a minister who comprehends the way taxes work for or against the welfare of all, depending on their application.

I am a pensioner, receiving $6,800 per month. Since the age of 16, I have been diagnosed with epilepsy, limiting the type of work I can do.

In 2013, I lost the sight of my left eye, because of a detached retina. At about the same time, I experienced a bout of vertigo, from which I partially recovered.

However, I have trouble balancing at times, resulting in a fall in July 2017 that fractured my left wrist. Long-term sciatica has left me also with a weak right foot.

So, I have no other income save the $60,000 per annum from the NIS. As you are aware, the previous administration increased the 2016-17 land tax by 150 per cent, which now puts mine in the region of $60,000. This is what I earn every year!

It is thus impossible to pay my land tax and survive, given my medication requirements.

My sister, who is 78, can help a bit, but, also being retired, cannot to the full amount. I am asking for relief from this onerous amount as are many old-agers in my position.

I AM NOT ASKING FOR TOTAL RELIEF as at this time I am able, with help from my family, to pay $25,000 per year. I ask for your kind attention to my plight.

Further, I am suggesting some needed changes to certain NIS and associated benefits and to the present system of how land tax is applied in order to facilitate our ageing population.

1. If an increase in valuation, and thus land tax, is to be made, the landowner/occupier’s name and details should be referenced against the roll of NIS old-age pensioners at the Ministry of Social Security, and a hold (at a certain affordable limit) be put on any increase, particularly if NIS is the landowner’s only income.

2. There has been a tax decrease for the PAYE folk up to and beyond the $1-million mark, and just recently, a cut in GCT, but there has been no matching benefit for NIS pensioners whose sole income is from that fund.

To enable a fairness of the tax structure as experienced by our old-agers, they are demanding equity in these following adjustments:

a. that they receive a “matching” increase in NIS benefits, or b. a ‘matching’ reduction in land tax so as to allow less pressure on their meagre pension, caused by the ever-rising land tax.

If a pensioner qualifies as a PATH awardee, to save paperwork, their PATH benefits should be added on to their bimonthly NIS pension/ pension cheque amount. This relieves PATH staff of unnecessary load, allowing a more efficient delivery of their mandated responsibilities.

Abolish the yearly application for land-tax relief by pensioners, as, logically, with time, their financial situation will tend to worsen as they age.

Why apply for relief when it becomes MORE needed with each passing year? This annual re-application is a further burden on the aged among us.