Property tax should be progressive, says president of the Institute of Surveyors of Trinidad and Tobago, Afra Raymond.

This means that those who are disproportionately wealthier and own more properties should have to contribute more than the average citizen who owns one property.

Raymond, one half of the Raymond and Pierre real estate duo, said on Tuesday that the tax adjustments for property are long overdue and the small sums which citizens have been paying for decades were unreasonable.

Economists who argue for progressive taxation (as is the case with national income tax) to be applied more frequently argue that it’s a way for the burden of taxation to be taken off the shoulders of those less able to pay, and put onto the shoulders of those with the most means and those who also enjoy the highest rate of returns from their properties.

Raymond was speaking at the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association’s Briefing Session on Property Tax, held at the Kapok Hotel on Tuesday.