Municipal corporation seeks $1B from property-tax dodgers

The St Catherine Municipal corporation has set itself an ambitious goal to exceed $1 billion in property tax collection in three years and will be going after delinquent property-owners to achieve its target.

Last year the body collected more than $656.4 million representing 107 per cent of the projected sum in the years which ended March 31. Although the parish’s three tax jurisdictions, Spanish Town, Linstead, and Old Harbour have been consistent over the past five years exceeding $500M in collection, the tax compliance officers said they could double their collection if delinquent people who have properties in the three jurisdictions are forced to pay up.

“We will deploy the entire compliance staff to all three jurisdictions and leverage the legal arm of the State to compel delinquent property taxpayers to face court action, and execute warrants where applicable,” said senior compliance officer John Thomas who was delivering his report at the St Catherine Municipal Corporation general meeting on Thursday.

According to Thomas, hundreds of parcels of forested lands where the owners cannot be contacted or even identified are in the three jurisdictions.

He continued, “We have to depend on a system that does not lend itself to accuracy in identifying parcels of land in urban, sub-urban, rural and deep-rural communities and this is posing a challenge.”

“I am hereby suggesting that the lots be cleared by the municipal corporation and a caveat be launched against the property with a view to auction in order to account for outstanding sums if they are not settled.”

Thomas added that these empty lots not only affect the expected tax revenue targets, but they are used as illegal dumping sites attracting rodents and raising the risk of a public-health crisis, as well as providing hide-outs for criminals.

He noted that the compliance staff has employed a robust outreach programme using mobile units to assist people who wish to pay their property tax without having to travel to the main revenue collection office in Spanish Town where there is always overcrowding.

He said this strategy had proven effective with collections of over $1 million in Lluidas Vale alone.

Thomas disclosed that the councillors and other municipal corporation staff members are at a 93.3-per-cent-compliance rate so far this year.