Some pensioners and unemployed persons are being asked to pay as much as $2 300 and $2 500 in Municipal Solid Waste Tax by the end of December 2014.
And the parliamentary representative for St Thomas, Cynthia Forde, who is in possession of some of these tax bills is calling on civil society to come forward and tell the Freundel Stuart administration that enough is enough.
Forde made this information available to a team from Barbados TODAY during an interview today after she had expressed grave concern over the plight facing some of her elderly constituents.
Cynthia Forde
Making a passionate appeal to civil society to come forward and speak on behalf of fellow citizens, Forde said: “ This not 1991 when the Barbados Labour Party took the initiative to speak on behalf of all Barbadians. This is the people’s crusade. They are the ones now who have to confront the Government and say,“put a halt to the tax, stop this tax now.”
Forde said several constituents who had received their tax bills had appealed to her for help.
“I am opposing what this Government has done to poor pensioners. I too will join with my other colleagues to make sure we put forward our petition because people are coming to me. I am not getting the chance to go to some of them. They are bringing their tax bills to me. There is a taxpayer in my constituency who is a seasonal worker who told me he cannot pay the new tax,” Forde said.
Stressing that the tax has placed an additional financial burden on some of her constituents, Forde said:“ I have a single resident in Cane Garden, St Thomas, who has one of those old time houses that was built in the 1960s and 70s. He has had the property upgraded, but now he is saddled with a municipal tax that is a few cents short of $2 500.”
The outspoken parliamentarian pointed out that the new tax because comes at a time when Barbadians are paying more for health care, food, fuel and other basic needs.