The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE government is moving to eliminate real property tax on certain small multi-family homes, with Senator Michael Halkitis saying the change is meant to make it easier for Bahamians to build wealth through rental income.

Speaking in the Senate on Thursday, the Minister of Economic Affairs said legislation will be amended to allow homeowners who build a triplex and live in one unit to avoid paying real property tax on the other two units.

“We made a commitment that we will no longer require that tax,” he said, arguing that current rules have made such developments less viable.

He said building duplexes and triplexes has long been promoted as a path to wealth, but the requirement to pay tax on additional units has discouraged some homeowners.

The proposed change forms part of a wider push to expand affordable housing, as the Senate debated three land resolutions tied to the government’s housing programme.

Mr Halkitis said two of the measures are aimed at regularising land ownership for people who have struggled for years to obtain proper title. A third resolution provides for the transfer of about 68 acres in Exuma — in two parcels of 38.4 acres and 30 acres — to the housing minister for $10, with the land earmarked for housing development.

“These lands are being conveyed for the purpose of providing housing,” Mr Halkitis said, adding that the initiative is expected to benefit Exuma residents, including those abroad who may want to return home. The Senate was also told of plans to transfer roughly 30 acres in Bozine Town from the Treasurer to the Ministry of Housing, land that has been tied up in legal disputes for years.

“This is in an effort to allow the Ministry of Housing to resolve longstanding issues of title and regularisation,” he said. A separate resolution covers just over three acres in the Pit Road area, also to be transferred for nominal consideration to support housing development. Beyond the land measures, Mr Halkitis said the government is exploring modular construction to cut costs and the acquisition of abandoned and derelict properties for redevelopment.

“There has to be more ways to incentivise construction,” he said, noting that discussions are ongoing with regional and international partners on improving access to housing finance. He said housing affordability remains a challenge across The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean, with institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank engaged in efforts to address it.

Mr Halkitis described the measures before the Senate as a “good step,” particularly for residents in areas such as Bozine Town and Pit Road who have long faced uncertainty over land ownership.