St Philip North MP Dr Sonia Browne is spearheading a protest movement against substantial increases in land tax rates affecting property owners with two or more acres.The Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) has reclassified numerous properties from residential to agricultural use, resulting in tax bill increases of up to 250 per cent for some landowners. The government backbencher, herself affected by the change, is calling on citizens to join the protest.“I think this is worth fighting and I intend to keep fighting until there is some resolution, hopefully favourable to us. I can’t take this anymore,” Dr Browne told Barbados TODAY. She added: “I would like to invite anybody in Sandford, throughout St Philip and the rest of the island to reach out to me. I want us to go as a group and demand change. This is the only way I can see that we can affect change, we need to come together as a group and object.”The controversy stems from the BRA’s decision to correct what it terms a previous error in classification. Kevindale Carter, the BRA’s land valuation and assessment technical specialist, explained in a letter to a resident that properties of two acres or more are now required to pay 0.95 per cent on the improved value of their land, in line with agricultural rates.
