ARV policy is unreasonable

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August 8, 2012

Dear Sir,

Once again the Progressive Labour Party Government is reversing its policies to try and suck back some of the revenue they gave away in electioneering promises. Many of our Seniors had been exempt from paying land tax and while some, like the real Class H vehicle owners could afford to pay, many more are property rich and cash poor. Those above the new threshold will now suffer like the majority of the rest of us who are paying for the consequences of the PLP Government’s mismanagement of our economy. In the currently depressed environment, where renting a property at any sum is far from certain, rental incomes are a fraction of what they were in 2007. This is not a bad thing as they were high.

What I find really distasteful is that the Land Valuation Department (LVD) are actually increasing Annual Rental Values (ARVs) to levels that are way in excess of what any landlord can hope to achieve. ARVs of $40,000 are not uncommon, yet the rent achievable is likely closer to $25,000 while the ARVs are being increased to $45,000. On top of that the LVD is now lumping new houses with apartments into a single unit to grab even more tax. Every new homeowner is going to pay for what the PLP have done to this country but I expect more property to become uninhabitable because paying tax at an inflated ARV when the property will likely be vacant for much of the time makes little economic sense, just like our Government’s flip-flopping financial policies.

EMPTY APARTMENT

Pembroke

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