Senior citizens who own and occupy their homes will now be exempt from land tax, revealed on Friday.

If the seniors own more than one home, however, they will pay land tax for whatever properties they do not occupy, she added.

The concessions were included in the new rates for land tax approved in the House of Assembly Friday. The new rates were set to minimise the impact of significant increases in annual rental values (ARV).

Without the new ARVs to compare the land tax adjustments to, however, the Opposition declared they would have to take the Minister?s word for it.

Ms Cox said the new valuation list will be deposited on December 31. ?ARVs will have increased very significantly since 1999, which is the reference date for the existing valuation list.

?The adjustment that Government proposes to make to the land tax structure is intended to generate a similar target revenue yield (of $42 million in the last fiscal year) when the new rates are established.?

A team of consultants engaged by the Ministry of Finance followed a complex mathematical path to restructure the tax rate, she said.

?The sizes of the increases in the ARVs of individual residential properties varied substantially among properties both within and between ARV ranges,? the Minister added. ?Therefore, it was impossible to avoid some relatively larger increases in taxes payable on certain properties with any reasonably coherent and internally consistent tax rate structure.?

Some further increases could be linked to substantial renovations completed on properties since 1999 which may have raised the value of that property considerably, she added.

Underlying valuations may have been overestimated in the past or present, she added. In such cases owners do have the right to appeal the valuation on their properties.

Some 24 percent of residential properties will experience varying levels of increase, however, Ms Cox said, ?for a majority of other owners there will be a reduction in their land tax bills.?

The goals were to create a similar yield as in the past year, make changes that were modest enough to be affordable for the individual tax payers, and improve concessions for senior citizens. ?Government selected the option that is revenue neutral and at the same time will provide concessions to seniors and hold the line on taxes for a majority of homeowners.

?I am delighted to say that in the case of senior citizens, Government has absolutely and comprehensively achieved the desired result,? Ms Cox said.

?No matter what the ARV, from the modest cottage to the estate mansion, if it is owned and occupied by a senior citizen, then there will not be any land tax to pay.

?If seniors own more than one property, however, tax will be payable for such other properties at the statutory rates.?

The bill was approved in committee and reported to the House.