THE EDITOR: It is unfortunate that such a young couple from Princes Town found it necessary to take their own lives due to the fact that they found themselves 'too deep' in debt.
The chairman of Lifeline TT has pointed to 'problems with finances as the type of stress behind more suicides.' The pandemic has left many suffering with financial stress.
It is against such a backdrop that the Minister of Finance has announced the introduction of the property tax and graciously projects that residential properties with a rental value of $3,000 would have to pay tax of $1,000 annually.
I have perused the classifieds in the newspapers and could find no residential property with a rental value of $3,000. One-room apartments are listed from $1,800 to $2,500. Two-bedroom apartments are listed from as low as $3,000.
I shudder to think of the tax on a normal three-bedroom owner-occupied house and can only imagine the financial stress exerted, particularly on pensioners like myself.
Let us pray that such financial stress is not a catalyst for more suicides.
IQUBAL HYDAL
Felicity
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