Government revenue suffering due to negligible property sales on Canouan – PM

For the last five years, property sales on Canouan have brought almost no money to government coffers compared with millions derived from the sale of property on Mustique.

“…The Government has made hardly any money, a number approaching zero, for alien land holding licenses and transfer taxes because there are properties up there to be sold and the developers are not pushing the sale…,” Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves told listeners to NBC radio on Wednesday during the Morning Cup program.

Gonsalves said developers on Canouan are “just keeping the land there within the company” and some people who have bought land have told him that until there is an improvement “in certain things” with their relationship with the developers they are not building.

“People are asking questions about maintenance and other things and this and that so there are other things which have to be sorted out,” Gonsalves said in relation to the Southern Grenadine island.

He noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, property prices on Mustique soared and the government benefited.

“…Because of what is happening in Mustique and the nature of what is taking place there and the vibrancy, the state made about $100 million in the COVID year from alien land holding licenses and transfer taxes with rich foreigners selling to rich foreigners, because people wanted to get out of Europe and the United States and Canada and come to a place where they could work from, they can relax…

“…And they bought and the prices for properties in Mustique went through the roof, rich people to rich people, and we stayed in the slips and caught 17 per cent of the value that was being sold with 10 per cent transfer taxes, … and basically 7 per cent for alien land holding license,” the Prime Minister said.

“I didn’t see any of that in Canouan… I am only touching some of the practical questions to give a wider context…”

The Prime Minister mentioned the sluggish land sales on Canouan while speaking about ongoing conflict in relation to access to beaches between Canouan Resorts Development (CRD) and residents on the island.

Gonsalves, who visited the island on Tuesday, said he is hoping to see some improvement in the relationship between developers and the community.

He said he is hoping that the developers get to the “spirit of their agreement” which was put together by a New Democratic Party (NDP) administration in 1990.

Describing the agreement as “tremendously in favour of the developers,” Gonsalves said the original developers came to an understanding with the people of Canouan and St Vincent and the Grenadines, but the original developer sold to another developer.

“… And I wouldn’t make any comment further in relation to that, to give the public a window to the discussion, because I don’t want to pour gasoline on any fire which may exist,” Gonsalves said.

He said that as leader of the country, he is interested in having things dealt with in a reasonable, sensitive and sensible manner.