HUNDREDS of supporters of the Congress of the People’s Axe the Tax initiative gathered at Woodford Square, Port of Spain, yesterday afternoon as the political party hosted a public meeting to protest the implementation of the new property tax bill as outlined in the 2009/ 2010 Budget presentation.

A number of speakers, including general secretary of the National Trade Union Centre (Natuc) Vincent Cabrera and deputy political leader of the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) Nyahuma Obika, voiced their dissatisfaction with Government’s decision to increase the property taxes, with the crowd in full support.

MP for Mayaro, Winston ’Gypsy’ Peters performed one of his songs- ’The Sinking Ship’ and later condemned Government’s decision regarding the tax.

’Our country is under siege. We are faced with a Government that some of you here, I am sure, voted into power, believing that they had what it takes to take us out of the trouble, any trouble we may find ourselves in. But behold, what we got was them paying us back with ungratefulness for our gratefulness,’ Peters said.

The Axe the Tax initiative has been ongoing for sometime now, with COP members embarking on meet-the people initiatives throughout the country. COP’s deputy political leader Prakash Ramadhar said it was the goal of the political party to collect more than 200,000 signatures to protest the bill.

In her 2009 Budget presentation, Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira announced that residential, commercial and agricultural properties will attract taxes of three per cent, five per cent and one per cent respectively on the annual rateable value of the property while industrial properties would attract a six per cent tax of the annual taxable value (which is based on six per cent of the installed cost of plant, machinery and associated buildings).