Bharrat Jagdeo and the existential crisis of Rates and Taxes
Mar 01, 2025
Kaieteur News- I have always been perplexed by the nature of reality, the human condition, and whether my house taxes are an elaborate joke at my expense. But it seems that Bharrat Jagdeo has taken it upon himself to ensure that property valuations in Georgetown remain as fictional as my chances of winning the lottery.
At his most recent press conference, Jagdeo—who, let’s be honest, speaks with the confidence of a man who has never doubted anything, including his own infallibility—declared that his government will not support any revaluation of properties in Georgetown. This, presumably, is because revaluation would lead to an increase in rates and taxes, which in turn would lead to landlords passing on the costs to tenants, which would then lead to a seismic societal collapse, mass hysteria, and possibly cats and dogs cohabiting.
Now, to be fair, there is a certain philosophical charm to Jagdeo’s logic. If we never change the valuation of properties, then taxes remain low, and if taxes remain low, people remain happy, and if people remain happy, they will conveniently forget that their neighbourhoods are crumbling. It’s an elegant solution in that it requires absolutely no action whatsoever. And if there’s one thing governments have perfected over the centuries, it’s the fine art of doing absolutely nothing while appearing profoundly busy.
The problem, of course, is that the current valuation system is so out of touch with reality that some people are paying less in annual property taxes than they spend on a decent haircut. Businesses, meanwhile, are paying disproportionately high taxes, while residential property owners enjoy a tax rate so low that it’s practically a subsidized fantasy.
Jagdeo, however, does not see this as a problem. He believes that keeping tax rates frozen in time is the key to urban prosperity. But here’s the twist: you can actually revalue properties without increasing taxes. Yes, it’s true. You can keep the tax rate low while still ensuring that the valuation of properties makes sense.
One suggestion is to move away from ad valorem rates and taxes to a more specific rates and taxes. For example, rates and taxes can be passed on the square feet of land and buildings; also, what can be added is specific taxes for garbage collection and drainage in a fixed sum per year. Also, high-end areas can be charged higher specific rates than say low-income communities.
But these changes require a sort of thinking that has so far eluded the PPP/C and its financial wizards. The reason why the PPP/C does not wish a revaluation of properties is because of its control mentality. It wants municipalities and local government organs to be dependent on central government. It wants to keep these local authorities leashed so that the government can reap approval from residents for doing works that fall within the jurisdiction of local authorities. This is why the government has been funding and executing works on community roads rather than working towards a system in which the municipalities and NDCs will be able to raise sufficient funds to undertake these roadworks.
The need for reform is striking. And yet, Jagdeo refuses. Why? Because, my dear, naïve, tax-paying citizens, he understands that financial dependency breeds political gratitude. The less money local government authorities have, the more they must rely on central government handouts. And when people see the central government repairing roads, unclogging drains, and generally doing the things that municipalities and neighbourhood democratic councils are supposed to do, they become inexplicably grateful—as if their own tax dollars were not, in fact, funding these projects in the first place. It’s a brilliant strategy.
The previous administration, the APNU+AFC actually attempted to reform local government. They initiated a pilot project in New Amsterdam that, if expanded, would have modernized the property tax system across the country. But of course, Jagdeo now portrays this effort as a cruel attack on the common man.
Never mind that the revenue from fair taxation could have improved local services, funded road repairs, enhanced garbage collection, and created sustainable municipal development. Never mind that the current system is a ticking financial time bomb. Jagdeo is here to protect us from the horrors of paying a reasonable amount of money for the services we demand.
We have a dilemma. The local authorities need money, but they can’t raise taxes. The tax system is outdated, but it can’t be reformed. The government wants to help municipalities, but only if they remain helpless. It’s a masterclass in circular reasoning.
In the meantime, garbage collection is a problem, the drains are still clogged up and many communities are still without streetlights and proper playgrounds. And Jagdeo? He will continue to stand before us, exuding the certainty of a man who has never once entertained the possibility of being wrong.
(Bharrat Jagdeo and the existential crisis of Rates and Taxes)
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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