Trinidad and Tobago is consi-dering a reduction in the property tax less than a month after it was announced as part of the fiscal measures in the 2009-2010 national budget.

Trade and Industry Minister Mariano Browne, speaking to reporters at the end of the General Council of the ruling People's National Movement (PNM) on Saturday, said the tax could be reduced from 10 to three per cent.

He said the Patrick Manning government expected to bring the Property Tax legislation to Parliament in the first quarter of next year.

"There will be an opportunity for review, further communication, when the legislation is brought to Parliament.

The idea is that we would certainly like to have it in position by January 1, 2010, because it is a lot of work between now and the end of the year to get it into position," Browne said, adding that he understood the public uproar over the measure

"I understand that there was insufficient information put into the public domain and as a result ignorance has held sway. A lot of the responses we have had so far have been ignorant because they haven't looked at what the actual specifics are.

"The reality is that anybody at this stage of the game can calculate, knowing what their rental is, what they'll pay. If you pay TT$10,000 (US$1,660) a year in rent, the rateable value is 90 per cent which is TT$9,000 (US$1,500) and three per cent of that is TT$270 (US$45).