THE Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has raked in more than $500 million at the end of last October in rates and taxes that citizens and businesses paid over during the amnesty period that began in September. According to Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green, $500 million was the target of the M&CC at the end of October. Because of the tremendous response that the council has been receiving, she said the amnesty has been extended until November 30. This, however, represents the final extension.
For this month, the municipality is hoping to collect another $100 million.
According to her, some persons explained to the M&CC that their bank loans were in the process of coming through and hence they needed more time to be able to benefit from the amnesty. Furthermore, many queries had to be done which required more time.
Some businesses still delinquent
Although the M&CC has been so considerate and flexible, Chase-Green said some businesses just did not budge. These will of course be taken to court, she said. However, those who went into the council and made an effort to pay, even if they could not complete their outstanding amounts, will be shown consideration.
This extension now gives commercial and residential property owners a third chance to settle their accounts without having to pay interest, given that the initiative, which initially started on September 1, 2015, was slated to run only for that month.
Town Clerk Royston King had told this newspaper recently: “We have received a very good response from property owners, as even though we are waiving the interest, some property owners could not have managed the demand within the time frame.”
Moreover, he said because the M&CC understands what is going on in the economy, the decision was taken to give property owners another opportunity to come in and settle their accounts as soon as possible.
When it was announced earlier that an amnesty for defaulting taxpayers was being granted to afford them an opportunity to pay their rates and taxes interest-free, residential property owners were offered a 100% amnesty on interest accrued, while commercial property owners were required to apply for a review by an amnesty panel, before securing between 50-75% amnesty on the interest accrued.
All property owners are being encouraged to take advantage of this deal and settle their accounts, so that the City Council could obtain financing to pursue a number of plans currently in the pipeline.
Over the years, persons have been withholding payment of their rates and taxes, causing the M&CC to halt projects, while finding difficulty in executing routine works.

By Telesha Vidya Ramnarine