Barbados To Lift Property Tax Threshold To $125,000

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

09 September 2003

The first $125,000 of a Barbadian property's value will be exempt from taxation under new measures announced by the government last weekend which are due to be approved next month.

According to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, headed by Prime Minister Owen Arthur, the changes will mean some 18,000 homeowners will pay not tax on their properties, with a further 30,000 benefiting from a reduced tax bill. The government added that pensioners will also retain a 50% rebate on their taxes.

However, the new measures must first be approved by parliament when it returns from its summer recess in October.

The proposal comes as part of a flurry of tax reducing measures proposed by Owen Arthur's government in recent months. Back in April, the Prime Minister announced that the income tax threshold will effectively be lifted by $10,000 over the next four years in $2,500 increments, commencing on January 1 2004. Consequently, under the proposals, after four years no income tax will be payable on earnings below $25,000 per annum.

“This will allow households to better plan their affairs...and every year the amount of taxes will be reduced by the combination of the fact that the rate of tax will fall from 25 to 20 per cent and 37.5 to 35 (per cent) and the income below which tax is not payable will raise from $15,000 to $25,000,” the Prime Minister explained at the time.

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