MP takes her land tax bill to House, ‘seeking relief’

Government backbencher Dr Sonia Browne on Tuesday made a direct, personal appeal to her parliamentary colleagues for relief from the land tax assessed on her home – although the ministry responsible for her bill was not up for scrutiny – as she claimed some of her neighbours were carrying a similar burden.

According to the St Philip North MP who was a Cabinet member until two months ago, her land tax bill almost tripled from $3 300 for 2022 to $8 300 for tax year 2023-2024.

The former health minister used the Estimates debate in the House of Assembly – which was examining the appropriation for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security – to offload a “heavy burden” she said she was carrying on her shoulders, which she said was also a matter of concern for her rural constituents in the heavy farming belt.

“This is the only place I can find to bring it up in the public sphere and I am waiting to hear if members of the public have the same issues,” she said.

Dr Browne told the House she was used to paying a certain level of land tax for many years until last year.

“I opened my land tax bill last year and almost had a seizure. It moved from $3 300 roughly to $8 300. I called my neighbours who are also farmers, one of them moved from $475 to $4 512 and they are legitimate farmers.

“I have 25 broilers, six layers, five lettuce in the ground, lots of coconut trees and fruit trees. I do not make a profit from any agricultural business. My neighbours, however, that’s their livelihood.”

Dr Browne insisted the matter needs to be addressed.

“I personally feel it was a mistake. I don’t want to throw around what little weight I have, but I went like a normal citizen and made the relevant calls, one of which was not the prettiest…. I was treated so badly…. Some of my neighbours are adamant that they are not paying the land tax.

“I have started to pay it, but God knows $8 000 is more than I make in here this month. I think that needs to be looked at,” she pleaded.

Dr Browne told the session she was bringing the matter to the attention of the legislators and the public in the hope that she would see some relief.

Cautioned by Chairman of Committees Peter Phillips that the matter was one for the Ministry of Finance which was not at that point under scrutiny, Dr Browne insisted that she tried that ministry “to no avail” and that since agricultural land was one of the measurements for the determination of land taxes, she was certain that the Ministry of Agriculture had an interest in the matter.

She said she believed she was being taxed for “non-residential property” for the land, but declared, “I live there with my three dogs.”

She further told the House that she had “pleaded” with the finance minister Ryan Straughn and “really got nowhere”.

“I am asking you to kindly speak to your Cabinet colleagues, the land tax department, BRA [Barbados Revenue Authority] – I really don’t care. People are suffering with these rates,” she added. “As far as I am aware, land tax was supposed to decrease.”

Attempting to respond to the troubled MP,  Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir said Dr Browne’s issue took him “by complete surprise”.

He promised to investigate the matter for his fellow Barbados Labour Party MP.

“I do not think it is anything that can’t be resolved. We came to government to govern. We came to this place to make sure we are doing what is right by people. There may very well be a good explanation,” Weir said.

The agriculture minister indicated that he was willing to address the issue and asked for space to get to the bottom of it.

“If it is something that needs a fix, I will make the necessary recommendation.”

(SP)