Two categories of land owners have been exempted from land tax as long as they have less than two hectares.
Land owners with less than 2 ha of land in rural areas using their land for agricultural purposes will not pay land tax.
Another category includes those with land in towns or suburbs of the city making it economically productive unless the owner turns it into commercial production.
In a meeting convened by the Prime Minister Pierre Damien Habumuremyi, the new land lease tax levied by the government had caused misconceptions.
The Prime Minister has issued a directive to extend the deadline of payment of new land levy which would result into paying fines and a consideration of those who are needy and use their land for agricultural purposes.
Habumuremyi also gave a directive to relevant authorities to go back and study well the fees of land and come up with a balanced land tax standard affordable to all.
He also said the new deadline should allow government to carry out a proper countrywide sensitization about taxation procedures.
The PM also directed authorities to identify any land that is not a wetland to be declassified.
Under the 2005 Ministerial decree on land tenure, the land owners are meant to pay a tax of Rwf 80 per square metre for residential land, Rwf 150 for commercial land in all areas classified as urban areas while a tax ranging between Rwf50 and Rwf 30 be levied on rural land.
“The issue of land tax has been misunderstood and blown out of proportion, the situation is not alarming though and the fees are not as high as alleged, compared to the value of land itself,” said Stanslas Kamanzi the Minister of Natural Resources.
PM convened a meeting that attracted all concerned ministries and government institutions involved in the implementation of the new policy, which will see land owners in their respective categories, pay an annual lease fee on their land.
The meeting which took place at the Prime Minister’s Office attracted Kigali City authorities, ministries of Environment and Natural Resources and Local Government, Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) as well as the Military and Police.
The new tax levied on land under the new tenure system enacted in 2005 whose implementation began last month has been a subject of controversy with landowners crying foul over the inequality involved in the payment and the limited time given to pay up.
“The government doesn’t want this to be seen as a burden on its citizens but rather a tax which is affordable to everyone. As a government, we put the needs of the citizens first,” Habumuremyi said, ordering an immediate assessment of the payment procedure.
Land lease issues were also raised in the recent National Dialogue, the with claims that needy families, especially in rural areas, could not afford to pay the lease fees and poor neighbouring developed areas ended up in wrong categories.
ENDS
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