Brunei's Local News - Brudirect.com

Bandar Seri Begawan - The issue of tenancy agreements and security of the land and business owners were voiced out yesterday by several perturbed landowners who called for further clarification on the Building Tax levied upon them during a roadshow held by the Municipal Department.

These issues were brought up during a question-andanswer session for the roadshow pertaining to the amount of tax imposed on commercial and residential buildings in Bandar Seri Begawan and the newly gazetted area at the Municipal Department's new headquarters yesterday.

According to the landowners, the authorities should play an important role in enforcing tenancy agreements due to the Building Tax. "The tax is based on rent. Where do we stand if tenants do not pay their rent?" one landowner asked.

"Tenants running away without paying rent have always been a problem. Tenancy agreements are not enforced to the fullest extent and we, the

landowners, pay the price and the taxes as well. These 'rent jumpers' can simply either fly off (if they are not local) or file bankruptcy. We end up as the victims," the landowner said, adding that if they incur the price of the tax into the rent, the marketability of their asset will be deemed unattractive.

The tax to be levied on commercial buildings was announced to be at a rate of 12 per cent of the total annual rental revenue yesterday.

The landowners stressed that most of the facilities and necessities included under the tax benefits has already existed long before the area has been gazetted into Bandar Seri Begawan, especially on access roads and general maintenance.

According to the landowners, they are grateful that these facilities and services are provided but due to the history of the department where services proved unreliable, they called for justification that this unreliability will not happen in the future once taxes are imposed.

The landowners, who are no strangers to the unreliable facilities and services of the old Bandar Seri Begawan, have taken their own self-driven initiative to ensure the cleanliness and comfort of their tenants for sustainability in their business.

"Please justify these tax rebates accordingly and if I have all the facilities before the gazette takes place, how can you (Municipal Department) justify my taxes? I will gladly pay to increase the country's revenue but please ensure that all services offered are properly in place," said one landowner from Menglait.

The Municipal Department countered the questions by reiterating that the risks associated with breaches in the tenancy agreement is the risk the landowners have to endure as the Building Tax is a regulation they have to follow. It also promised to raise awareness on the subject during the biweekly Municipal Board meetings.

The department also assured that they will react as promptly as possible to ensure that all services are attended to and implemented to the fullest extent and if any lag in the services from other departments persist, the subject will be brought up to the Municipal Board.

On the issue of tax rebates concerning the existing access roads, the Municipal Department insisted that the matter will be looked at it in-depth and will provide full clarification once the Municipal Board has given the decree. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times