The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Realtors yesterday said today’s deadline for challenging 2022 real property tax billings is “too tight” because appraisers have been overwhelmed by clients requesting valuations of their real estate.

Robin Brownrigg, a broker and appraiser with Bahamas Realty, told Tribune Business that the extent of some over-valuations - and the “doubling, tripling and quadrupling” of tax assessments - was “a little frightening” as the Government seeks to make sure all taxable properties and their owners pay their fair share.

Disclosing that he is “booked out a month in advance”, he spoke out as Christine Wallace-Whitfield, the Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA) president confirmed that the body had requested the Government extend today’s deadline for submitting real property tax challenges as there were simply not enough realtors to meet the demand.

“There’s been so many inquiries that we’ve been getting inundated with it,” she told this newspaper. “People have been asking if they can get their properties appraised, reassessed and revalued. It’s been quite substantial. I know there’s a lot of appraisers who have been very, very busy. Because there’s been so many we’ve been asking the Government for an extension” of the March 31 deadline.

Mrs Wallace-Whitfield added that she had been sent a notice yesterday afternoon informing persons that if they submit their queries and challenges by today then the Department of Inland Revenue will examine them, although she was unsure whether it was genuine. Tribune Business, too, was unable to confirm this before press time last night.

Mr Brownrigg, who specialises in high-end properties, said: “With these appraisals on tax, I’m just overwhelmed. It’s been all over.” He added that Paradise Island and the Ocean Club Estates, in particular, had seen “a lot of over-evaluations” with persons billed “double, triple, quadruple, whatever it is” compared to previous assessments “and not having time to adjust”.

“The deadline of March 31 is too tight,” he added. “People in general want to be assessed fairly..... Some of the over-valuations have been extremely high. I don’t need to get into percentages. It’s a little frightening. There’s been high demand for my valuations and the timeframe is being exacerbated by that short deadline. That’s the issue. I do so much that I’m booked out a month in advance now at least with the work in front of us.”

The outcry over sharp hikes in real property tax bills stems from the Government contracting US-based Tyler Technologies to conduct an island-wide mapping exercise of New Providence. This was designed to ensure all properties are captured on the real property tax roll. This, and the subsequent revaluations, are a first step in what the Government views as a wide-ranging exercise that will lead to all taxable property owners paying their fair share.

The valuation process employed by Tyler and the Department of Inland Revenue was a “bulk” assessment that used algorithms to calculate the worth of properties in a particular neighborhood or subdivision based on their dimensions/size and which category - owner-occupied, residential, commercial, undeveloped land etc - they fell into.

This has resulted in triple-digit increases for some taxpayers, with the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) saying its members had reported increases of between 100 percent to 435 percent compared to 2021 billings. Commercial and residential property owners have been scrambling ever since to obtain appraisals that can be used to challenge these valuations.

Mr Brownrigg, praising the Government “for wanting to try and get it right”, said of the Tyler Technologies assessment: “They thought they were doing the right thing. It really has not been the answer....Everybody is trying to get it right. The Government is trying to get it right, but these folks, their formulas have not played out across the board. They’ve worked out in some areas, but fallen short in others.”

Many of the objections will likely come from high-end residential and commercial property owners, given that real property tax and its rates are structured such that the burden is heavier for more expensive real estate.

A significant portion of complaints will also stem from owners whose properties have not been valued for years, sometimes for decades, meaning that the Tyler Technologies revaluation will have resulted in a seemingly-huge tax hike even though it may have only brought the bill to the correct level. The Act calls for a revaluation to be conducted every five years, which has not been done.

Peter Dupuch, ERA Dupuch Real Estate’s principal, told Tribune Business that several of his neighbours in Port New Providence have been hit with real property tax bills for vacant land. While Bahamian-owned vacant, undeveloped land is not taxed, he explained that these properties were being treated as having commercial use because a dock is attached to them.

“People have been asking me about it,” he added of the real property tax hikes. “I know my home almost doubled in value for property tax payments. Like everybody else I’ve put in my inquiry and will see if they reassess it. In my neighbourhood I’ve had 10-15 people call me to ask me what I am doing and what I think of it. Almost everyone I’ve spoken to has had a real property tax increase; everyone in Port New Providence.

“They didn’t really change it in Palm Cay and Treasure Cove, but really went up on us here. They’ve really hit us in Port New Providence. What is a bit frustrating is there are a lot of vacant lots they have classified as commercial because they have a dock, and are trying to charge Bahamians. I really don’t understand that. Yes, you can rent dock space out, but you can rent out a house and it’s not commercial.

“I have been hearing out east, especially in the high-end neighbourhoods, a lot of complaints. Nothing doubles in a year. Where are people going to find the money from? You don’t in one fell swoop just go and double it. I just don’t understand how they expect people to pay that.”