The Board of Inland Revenue will pay out over $200 million to taxpayers.
Minister of Finance, Colm Imbert, advised that he has requested the BIR to issue individual tax refunds to all eligible taxpayers who are owed these refunds in amounts up to $25,000. This will cost the Government $246 million and involve tax refunds to 87,376 taxpayers.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance highlighted that in February 2025, Trinidad and Tobago was removed from the list of countries with Harmful Tax Practices.
The OECD Forum on Harmful Tax Practices conducts reviews of preferential tax regimes to determine whether the regimes could be harmful to the tax base of other jurisdictions. Trinidad and Tobago was previously found to be non-compliant because of the operation of Free Trade Zones with duty-free and tax-free regimes.
Minister Imbert noted that in 2024, Trinidad and Tobago’s Free Trade Zones were replaced with Special Economic Zones, and the Free Trade Zone Act was repealed, leading to the abolishment of Free Trade Zones in Trinidad and Tobago.