RAMADHAR blasts ROWLEY for blatant lying on PROPERTY TAX PNM Backtracks 0n Property Tax. Keith Rowley Attempts to Repackage Discredited TAX HIKE. PORT-OF-SPAIN – Congress of the People (COP) Political Leader Prakash Ramadhar today blasted People’s National Movement (PNM) Political Leader Keith Rowley for attempting to mislead voters about the nature of the PNM’s controversial Property Tax plan. Rowley earned the stiff rebuke for blatantly lying at Sunday’s launch of the PNM’s slate of local candidates that the Property Tax would have benefitted local governments. The motivation behind Rowley’s attempts to rewrite history is clear. It was the PNM that was responsible for introducing the discriminatory and wildly unpopular tax scheme when they were in government. Rather than have the proceeds go to improve the local area around the properties taxed, the money would have been earmarked for consolidated fund. As all Trinidadians will know, money in the Consolidated Fund is for the government of the day to use as they see fit. The COP, since joining the coalition government, has been stalwart in its refusal to allow the Property Tax to go ahead. The popular “Axe the Tax” campaign was just the most visible example of this opposition springing from its loyalty to the people that voted it in to be the conscience of the nation. The one possible condition under which Ramadhar and the COP would allow the tax to go through was if the revenue collected were to be passed directly to local government. For Rowley and the PNM to so disgracefully and in broad daylight claim that red is white and white is red is further proof, if any was needed, that the party is far from ready to again be trusted by Trinidadians. “Mr. Rowley’s decision to intentionally mislead people about the provisions of the PNM tax scheme is precisely the reason so many people are cynical about politics,” said Ramadhar. “He knows very well that not a single penny of the PNM land tax would have gone to local governments.” Ramadhar led the fight against the PNM-property tax in parliament. Seeing that the tax was flawed in concept and flawed in design, the COP also opposed the tax’s valuation methodology. “Mr. Rowley is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts,” added Ramdhar. “I’m confident that the voters will see through this sloppy PNM effort to rewrite history.” “The COP firmly believes that all property taxes should be used by local government for upkeep, development and maintenance of constituency infrastructure and not be allocated to the Central government consolidated fund,” concluded Ramdhar.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 18:46:30 +0000
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