THE EDITOR: Back in 2019, the Minister of Finance made the wise decision to help reduce our carbon footprint and expedite TT's energy transition by increasing the tax credit for solar water heaters from 25 per cent to 100 per cent. This was up to a value of $10,000 and effective from January 2020.

Concerned about the environment and glad for opportunities to reduce our T&TEC bill, we installed one for our home before the pandemic. After the pandemic hit, like so many others we were also very much in need of the $10,000 rebate come 2021.

As soon as 2020 returns were available through e-Tax, I went through the process of trying to file, especially since it wasn't the only refund our household was owed. But the BIR had not updated the 2020 returns to reflect the 100 per cent credit. It was instead stuck at the same 25 per cent. I thought perhaps I could file a paper return, only to find that the BIR was not accepting anything but e-Tax returns.

It has now been months with repeated inquiries to the BIR about whether this will get fixed. Each time we are told to call back in two weeks. Apparently this has been languishing on the commissioner's desk for goodness knows how long, and then after that the IT team has to implement and test the fix before any of us can even try to file the return. And then? Goodness knows how long it will take for the Ministry of Finance to process those refunds. It couldn't be that this delay is intentional, to avoid having to pay taxpayers' their refunds, could it?

Let me be clear. I'm one of those people whose income has been reduced over the pandemic, not so much that I qualify for the existing grants, but enough that this refund could ease a lot of anxiety about how and when I can pay my bills. The Government is not otherwise going to be helping me financially. The least it could do is pay refunds in a timely manner.

FAITH LARA

Santa Cruz