By ANDRE BAGOO Monday, September 6 2010

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Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and members of the Cabinet during one of the workshop sessions in Tobago....

PRIME MINISTER Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday delivered early Budget gifts to the nation by revealing that the 2010/2011 fiscal package will contain no new taxes and will see the repeal of the property tax and a tax holiday.

Questioned on what the nation should expect for Wednesday’s Budget, to be delivered by Minister of Finance Winston Dookeran, the Prime Minister also said there will be a reversion to the old system of Land and Building taxes after the repeal of the property tax.

However, the rates of these taxes will be reduced. Additionally, there will be a moratorium on these taxes for the year 2010.

“No new taxes, including no property tax,” Persad-Bissessar said at a media briefing at the Coco Reef Resort and Spa at Store Bay, Tobago. “But what you will get is what there was before. In fact we have decreased that.

“What we have done is what we promised — and we will keep that promise — that the property tax will not be implemented, will be repealed and so on, but there must be something in place so we revert to Land and Building taxes.

“What has happened is that in the Land and Building taxes there are very low rates but because the former Government...revalued land...the prices went up,” she said. “So even going back to the old land taxes people would have been paying more.

“So what we decided to do is that we will lower the rates.” She clarified that the Land and Building taxes thus reverted will apply from 2011.

“For 2010 there will be no taxes. We are not going to :retro-act them,” she said. “The year is almost done...We begin from 2011 (and) have a moratorium for 2010.”

In an interview with Newsday, Dookeran said he will address the issue of the property tax in his Budget.

The Finance Minister left a four-day workshop in Tobago one day early on Saturday to continue work on the Budget, holding meetings with officials of all ministries at his offices at the Central Bank in Port-of-Spain yesterday.

Persad-Bissessar also yesterday addressed the issue of the Government’s promised $3,000 pension, amidst criticisms that it failed to stick to its promise of a pension for all over the age of 60. She said introducing such a change to pensions was not financially feasible at this time.

“The finances of the nation will not be able to do that at this time. Simple. If and when the finances of our nation allow, we will do it,” she said. Quoting reggae artiste Shaggy, she said she had never made a promise for pensions at the age of 60.

“It was not me...The difficulty arose sir because of an advertisement,” she said. “It says life begins at 60 but there was no pledge of a pension at 60.”

However, she indicated collective responsibility for the advertisement.

The Prime Minister yesterday closed-off a four-day Government workshop in Tobago. She said the final session dealt with protocol and also saw the Government get an update on its 120-day plan as promised in its 2010 General Election manifesto.

She said the Government has ascertained that seven of its plans are in jeopardy of not being fulfilled and that ministers have been placed on “red alert” to ensure that work is done on these promises.

“We still have time. It was brought to our attention and right away in the room the ministers who are responsible are on red alert now to deal with those issues that do not appear to be on track. We give our commitment to trying to fulfil and keep our pledges to the people of Trinidad and Tobago,” she said. She counted a total of 40 promises made to the population.

Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar said only three of the seven promises are in danger — namely pledges to: introduce a Green Fund, new offences dealing with white-collar crime and the establishment of a civil society board. For some of these measures legislation and other approval processes must first occur, she indicated.