Nearly $40 million worth of building taxes still unpaid

Leo Kasim
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

PROPERTY owners owe about $38.7 million worth of building taxes to three municipal departments in the 2015/2016 financial year, the Minister of Home Affairs said yesterday.

At the 12th Legislative Council meeting, YB Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Hj Awg Abu Bakar Hj Apong said as of January 31, only $6.3 million out of the total $45.08 million in arrears have been collected for the outgoing fiscal year.

He said this in his reply to LegCo Member Yang Berhormat Awang Hj Gapor@Hj Mohd Daud Karim’s question on unpaid building taxes. The charges are usually issued in January with the amount depending on factors such as the location of the building.

Building owners in Kuala Belait and Seria owe $2.75 million, while those in Tutong still need to pay $22,408.

The BSB Municipal Department also holds the largest number of accounts at 2,314 while KB/Seria holds 668 accounts and Tutong has 11 accounts.

YB Pehin Dato (Dr) Hj Awg Abu Bakar said there are 253 accounts in the BSB Municipal which make up a total of $5.64 million in unpaid taxes.

“Owners in BSB have agreed to make payments in instalments. Currently, the payments have amounted to $1.22 million which is 18.1 per cent of the total,” he said.

As part of ongoing efforts to reclaim the arrears, the minister said from October 2015 to February 2016, a total of 121 cases of unpaid taxes under the BSB Municipal have been forwarded to the Attorney General’s Chambers to get letters of demand which make a legal claim for payment from building owners.

The minister said the BSB Municipal has managed to collect $8.5 million in taxes since the establishment of a body dedicated to collecting building taxes in October 17, 2015 up to February 29,2016.

He said this is a $3.91 million increase in payments from the previous year.

YB Pehin Dato (Dr) Hj Awg Abu Bakar said the Municipal Department has been able to increase its collection of property taxes in 2015 and the financial year 2015/2016. But he didn’t dislose specific figures.

Acccording to the minister, a reminder is initially issued to property owners who have not yet paid their taxes. This is followed by a final reminder if the amount is still unpaid along with payment notices circulated through mass media. The final course of action is to forward cases to the AGC to issue a letter of demand in order to claim payment.

In a visit to the home affairs ministry last month, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam urged for a more efficient and effective system to resolve overdue building taxes.

At that time, the monarch said the building tax rate should be framed in such a way that would make the municipal area among the main contributors to the country’s economy.


Sumber - The Brunei Times