AFRA RAYMOND

The implementation of the controversial property tax is now under way, marked by a series of official announcements and the issuance of revised notices of valuation to an estimated 400,000 residential taxpayers.

While these revisions are necessary, there is a critical flaw in the system that must be addressed: the restricted access to the Valuation Roll database.

I want to explore the implications of this restricted access, argue for the necessity of transparency, and identify who stands to gain from maintaining the status quo.

The new property-tax system aims to deliver equitable taxes through a crowd-sourcing approach, which promises transparency and low operational costs. Property owners were asked to submit detailed returns – about 60,000 of which were sent – which were then analysed by the Valuation Division of the Finance Ministry.

Selected properties were inspected and measured, leading to provisional tax assessments. Taxpayers have the right to object to these assessments, which will be refined through this iterative process of public feedback, ensuring fairness and accuracy.

The key point about the new property tax, and the source of most of the significant opposition, is that almost all owners of investment properties currently avoid paying income tax or corporation tax on their rental earnings.

The new property tax aims to function as a crowd-sourced, open-access system, enabling taxpayers to view other assessments to determine whether their own is fair.

This level of transparency, which was absent in the previous paper-based system, has provoked a fierce and deceptive backlash from many property owners. These owners often disguise their opposition as concern for the elderly and poor, when in reality, their primary motive is to continue evading taxes. In my numerous discussions with residential taxpayers who have received these notices, there is a broad consensus that the assessments are fair.

The Valuation Roll is the comprehensive database of all property details and assessments, so it is central to this transparent, crowd-sourced system. Public access to this database is intended to allow taxpayers to compare assessments, identify discrepancies, and ensure their own assessments are fair.

However, the current legislation restricts access to this vital information only to certain officials, undermining the system’s transparency.

Apart from obvious gross errors in terms of the property address etc, it is that comparison between assessments which would be the most likely basis for a taxpayer’s making a formal complaint. Six of the ten grounds of objection printed on the notices of valuation issued by the Commissioner of Valuations refer to the Valuation Roll, thus vindicating my observation.

There is an irreconcilable conflict between the logic of the new tax, with its crowd-sourced approach, and the fact that the Valuation of Property Act (the property-tax legislation) restricts access to the Valuation Roll to certain officials. This restriction undermines the princ