Land tax hike milks farmers

By: JO-MARÉ DUDDY

GOVERNMENT intends drastically hiking tax on commercial farms as it looks for N$400 million in the next five years to buy farms to speed up land reform. That means N$80 million every year – a stark contrast to the roughly N$25 million per year raised through land tax on commercial farms since 2004.

The tax hikes will be based on the 2012 Provisional Valuation Roll, launched by Lands and Resettlement Minister Alpheus !Naruseb on Wednesday.

The new valuation roll has caused an outcry from commercial farmers, with some farmers now facing an increase of more than 300% in land tax.

“Our phones have been ringing off the hooks,” Sakkie Coetzee, executive manager of the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU), told The Namibian yesterday.

The NAU expects to meet with !Naruseb today and will ask him to clarify the procedures used to come up with the valuations in the new roll. “We cannot explain it to our members at the moment,” Coetzee said.

In !Naruseb’s speech prepared for the launch, he said there has been a “marked increase in the price of commercial agricultural land [since 2007] which is manifesting itself in the increase of values of properties contained in the current provisional valuation roll”.

However, commercial farmers disagree and are crying foul. 

“The law stipulates that the carrying capacity of land should be taken into consideration in valuing a farm. How come then a farm in the Kalahari is worth twice as much as the same size farm near Tsumeb?” one farmer commented to The Namibian.

“It is unrealistic. Where are the principles of fairness and affordability?” he wanted to know.

!Naruseb said in his speech that the N$400 million raised through land tax over the next five years will be used to “acquire land to resettle the previously disadvantaged Namibians, as well as to improve commercial agricultural land”.

“That is, to make farms for resettlement both liveable and economically viable,” he said.

Coetzee said the new valuation roll is bound to be a burning issue at next week’s annual congress of the NAU and the Livestock Producers’ Organisation (LPO). The NAU will embark on a plan of action based on the congress decisions, he said.

Farmers can inspect the new roll and object against it. For this they will need ‘Objection Form 1’, which is available at the NAU, Coetzee said. Objections will be heard by the Valuation Court from December 5 to 7.Land tax hike milks farmers

• JO-MARÉ DUDDY

 

GOVERNMENT intends drastically hiking tax on commercial farms as it looks for N$400 million in the next five years to buy farms to speed up land reform.

That means N$80 million every year – a stark contrast to the roughly N$25 million per year raised through land tax on commercial farms since 2004.

The tax hikes will be based on the 2012 Provisional Valuation Roll, launched by Lands and Resettlement Minister Alpheus !Naruseb on Wednesday.

The new valuation roll has caused an outcry from commercial farmers, with some farmers now facing an increase of more than 300% in land tax.

“Our phones have been ringing off the hooks,” Sakkie Coetzee, executive manager of the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU), told The Namibian yesterday.

The NAU expects to meet with !Naruseb today and will ask him to clarify the procedures used to come up with the valuations in the new roll. “We cannot explain it to our members at the moment,” Coetzee said.

 

 

 

 

 

In !Naruseb’s speech prepared for the launch, he said there has been a “marked increase in the price of commercial agricultural land [since 2007] which is manifesting itself in the increase of values of properties contained in the current provisional valuation roll”.

However, commercial farmers disagree and are crying foul. 

“The law stipulates that the carrying capacity of land should be taken into consideration in valuing a farm. How come then a farm in the Kalahari is worth twice as much as the same size farm near Tsumeb?” one farmer commented to The Namibian.

“It is unrealistic. Where are the principles of fairness and affordability?” he wanted to know.

!Naruseb said in his speech that the N$400 million raised through land tax over the next five years will be used to “acquire land to resettle the previously disadvantaged Namibians, as well as to improve commercial agricultural land”.

“That is, to make farms for resettlement both liveable and economically viable,” he said.

Coetzee said the new valuation roll is bound to be a burning issue at next week’s annual congress of the NAU and the Livestock Producers’ Organisation (LPO). The NAU will embark on a plan of action based on the congress decisions, he said.

Farmers can inspect the new roll and object against it. For this they will need ‘Objection Form 1’, which is available at the NAU, Coetzee said. Objections will be heard by the Valuation Court from December 5 to 7.

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