Finance (No. 2) Act, 2021

BILL AN ACT to make provisions of a financial nature and other related matters [Assented to 17th December, 2021] ENACTED by the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago as follows:

1. This Act may be cited as the Finance (No. 2) Act,
3. The Gambling and Betting Act is amended by inserting after section 29 the following new section: 29A. (1) The fees payable pursuant to paragraph 17(2) of the First Schedule, for Chap. 11:19 amended “Waiver and refund of fees for year 2020 Enactment Short title Second Session Twelfth Parliament Republic of Trinidad and Tobago REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Act No. 16 of 2021 [L.S.]

the year ending 31 December, 2020, shall be reduced by forty-two per cent. (2) Where it is proved to the satisfaction of the Board of Inland Revenue or the Betting Levy Board, as the case may be, that a licence holder paid a fee pursuant to paragraph 17(2) of the First Schedule, for the year ending 31 December, 2020, he shall be entitled to a refund of forty-two percent of the amount paid to the Board of Inland Revenue or the Betting Levy Board, as the case may be.”. 3. The Proceeds of Crime Act is amended in the Second Schedule by inserting after item 24 the following item: “(25) Offences related to a prohibited scheme under section 165A of the Securities Act”. 4. The Registration of Clubs Act is amended in section 23, by inserting the following subsections: “(10) The gaming taxes payable for the income year ending 31st December, 2020 shall be reduced by forty-two per cent. (11) Notwithstanding subsection (6), where it is proved to the satisfaction of the Board of Inland Revenue that the Secretary has paid, on behalf of the members’ club, gaming taxes for the income year ending 31st December, 2020, the club shall be entitled to have forty-two per cent of the taxes so paid, refunded to it.”. 5. The Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act is amended— (a) in the Fourth Schedule, by deleting paragraph 9 and substituting the following: Chap. 11:27 amended Chap. 21:01 amended Chap. 48:50 amended 2 No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021

“9. (1) Notwithstanding para￾graph 1, motor vehicles tax shall not be charged, levied and collected in respect of a— (a) new electric motor vehicle, imported for private use; or (b) used electric motor vehicle, imported for private use, which is not older than two years from the year of manufacture. (2) In this paragraph, an “electric motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle, using only an electric motor for propulsion, referred to in the First Schedule to the Customs Act classified under Tariff Heading Numbers— (a) 8703.90.90; and (b) 8711.90.90.”; and (b) in the Ninth Schedule, in paragraph 3, in relation to ‘Goods vehicle carrying excess weight’, by deleting the words “$750” in the Third Column and “3” in the Fourth Column and substituting the words “$4,000” and “4”, respectively. 6. The Port Authority Act is amended by inserting after section 35, the following section: 35A. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Value Added Tax Act, all plant, machinery, appliances, apparatus, equip￾ment and materials of every kind whatso￾ever, whether acquired locally or imported by the Authority for the purpose of carrying out its functions under this Act, shall be free from value added tax.”. Chap. 51:01 amended “Exemption from value added tax Chap. 75:06 No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021 3

7. The Income Tax Act is amended— (a) in section 11(7), by deleting the words “Lands and Buildings Taxes Act and the Municipal Corporations Act” and substituting the words “Property Tax Act”; (b) in section 18A— (i) in subsection (1), by deleting the words “twenty-five thousand dollars” and substituting the words “thirty thousand dollars”; (ii) in subsection (3)(c), by deleting the words “Lands and Buildings Taxes Act and the Municipal Corporations Act” and substituting the words “Property Tax Act”; and (iii) in subsection (4)(b), by deleting the words “twenty-five thousand dollars” and substituting the words “thirty thousand dollars”; (c) in section 28(15), by deleting the words “fifty thousand dollars” and substituting the words “sixty thousand dollars”; and (d) in Part II of the Third Schedule, in paragraph (i), by deleting the words “10 per cent” and “5 per cent” and substituting the words “8 per cent” and “3 per cent”, respectively.
8. The Corporation Tax Act is amended— (a) in section 3(2)(b), by deleting the words “fifteen percent” and substituting the words “fifty percent of the rate of corporation tax set out in subsection (1),”; Chap. 75:01 amended Chap. 75:02 amended 4 No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021

(b) by inserting the following new section: 3B. (1) Notwithstanding section 3A, the rate of the business levy for a SME listed company shall be calculated as follows: (a) zero per cent, for the first five years from listing; (b) fifty per cent of the rate of the business levy set out in section 3A(1), for the next five years immediately following the period referred to in paragraph (a); and (c) at the rate of the business levy set out in section 3A(1), for the years immediately following the period referred to in para￾graph (b). (2) For the purposes of this section, “SME listed company” means a Small and Medium Enterprise company listed on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange, namely a company whose— (a) minimum issued share capital is five million dollars and maximum issued share capital does not exceed fifty million dollars following the initial public offering; “Rate of business levy for SME listed company No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021 5

(b) minimum and maximum capital base comprises of issued share capital only and does not include retained earnings and accounts transferred from such issued share capital or account; (c) minimum of twenty￾five unconnected share￾holders own a total of at least thirty per cent of the new issued share capital of the company; and (d) capital is raised with the issuance of an initial public offering to be followed by a listing on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange no more than sixty days after allotment of the issue.”; (c) in section 6(ze), by deleting the words “2026” and substituting the words “2028”; (d) by inserting after section 10T, the following sections: 10U. (1) Where in a year of income commencing from 1st January 2022, a company incurs expenditure in engaging in research and development, there shall be allowed as a deduction, in ascertaining the chargeable profits of the company for that year of income, an allowance equal to forty per cent of the “Research and development allowance 6 No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021

actual expenditure incurred, up to a maximum of three million dollars. (2) For the purposes of this section, “research and develop￾ment” means a process intended to create a new or improved product. 10V. (1) Where in a year of income commencing from 1st January 2022, a company incurs expenditure in the conservation or preservation of a property of interest, as certified by the Minister, there shall be allowed as a deduction, in ascertaining the chargeable profits of the company for that year of income, an allowance equal to one hundred and fifty per cent of the actual expenditure incurred, up to a maximum of one million dollars. (2) For the purposes of this section— “Minister” has the meaning assigned to it under the National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago Act; and “property of interest” has the meaning assigned to it under the National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago Act.”; and (e) in the First Schedule— (i) in paragraph 1, by deleting the words “and 4” and substituting the words “, 4, 5 and 6”; and Conservation or preservation of property of interest Chap. 40:53 No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021 7

(ii) by inserting the following paragraphs: “5. (1) Subject to sub￾paragraph (2), for the income years 2022 and 2023, a company engaged in the business of manufacturing shall be subject to corporation tax at the rate of twenty-five per cent per annum on the first one hundred thousand dollars expended on investments in projects related to— (a) information tech￾nology; (b) digitization; or (c) technology develop￾ment, to advance growth in the manufacturing industry. (2) This paragraph does not apply to a petro￾chemical company. (3) For the purpose of this paragraph, “petro￾chemical company” means a company which produces chemicals from the cracking or processing of petroleum oil, natural gas or methane. 6. (1) A company whose core business activity is technology solution and 8 No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021

digitization shall be subject to corporation tax at a rate of fifty per cent of the rate specified in paragraph 1 of the First Schedule— (a) on the first one hundred thou￾sand dollars of chargeable income for income year 2022; and (b) on the first two hundred thousand dollars of chargeable income for income year 2023. (2) For the purposes of this paragraph, “technology solution” means a set of related software programmes or services that are sold as a package.”. 9. The Petroleum Taxes Act is amended by inserting after section 26G, the following section: 26H. (1) Where in a year of income commencing from 1st January 2022, a company incurs expenditure in investing in— (a) carbon capture and storage; and (b) enhanced oil recovery, there shall be allowed as a deduction, in ascertaining the chargeable profits of the Chap. 75:04 amended “Carbon capture and storage and enhanced oil recovery allowance No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021 9

company for that year of income, an allowance equal to thirty per cent of the actual expenditure incurred, up to a maximum of five hundred thousand dollars. (2) For the purposes of this section— “carbon capture and storage” means technology which prevents or removes carbon emissions from the atmosphere and stores the captured carbon emissions for reuse in manufacture or stores the captured carbon emissions underground or otherwise; and “enhanced oil recovery” means the increased recovery of crude oil from a reservoir by using various methods, including steam, water flooding or gas injection into an existing oil well.”. 10. The Value Added Tax Act is amended in Schedule 2— (a) in item 8, by deleting subitems (2) and (3) and substituting the following subitems: “(2) A— (a) new electric motor vehicle, imported for private use; and (b) used electric motor vehicle, imported for private use, which is not older than two years from the year of manu￾facture. Chap. 75:06 amended 10 No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021

(3) In subitem (2), “electric motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle, using only an electric motor for propulsion, referred to in the First Schedule to the Customs Act classified under Tariff Heading Numbers— (a) 8703.90.90; and (b) 8711.90.90.”; and (b) by inserting after item 48, the following items: “49. The following items contained in the First Schedule to the Customs Act: (a) walking canes classified under Tariff Heading Number 6602.00.00; (b) white canes classified under Tariff Heading Number 6602.00.00; (c) mobility canes classified under Tariff Heading Number 6602.00.00; and (d) braille typewriters classified under Tariff Heading Number 8469.00.00. 50. Articles which are exempt from the payment of Customs duty under item 5(d) of Part A of the Second Schedule to the Customs Act.”. 11. The Miscellaneous Taxes Act is amended by inserting the following new section: 62B. (1) Notwithstanding section 62, the rate of the Green Fund Levy for a SME Chap. 77:01 amended “Rate of Green Fund Levy for SME listed company No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021 11

listed company shall be calculated as follows: (a) zero per cent, for the first five years from listing; (b) fifty per cent of the rate of the Green Fund Levy set out in section 62, for the next five years immediately following the period referred to in paragraph (a); and (c) at the rate of the Green Fund Levy set out in section 62, for the years immediately following the period referred to in paragraph (b). (2) For the purposes of this section, “SME listed company” means a Small and Medium Enterprise company listed on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange, namely a company whose— (a) minimum issued share capital is five million dollars and maximum issued share capital does not exceed fifty million dollars following the initial public offering; (b) minimum and maximum capital base comprises of issued share capital only and does not include retained earnings and accounts transferred from such issued share capital or retained earnings to a reserved account; 12 No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021

(c) minimum of twenty-five unconnected shareholders own a total of at least thirty per cent of the new issued share capital of the company; and (d) capital is raised with the issuance of an initial public offering to be followed by a listing on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange no more than sixty days after allotment of the issue.”. 12. The Customs Act is amended— (a) by repealing section 45B and substituting the following section: 45B (1) Notwithstanding section 6 and the First Schedule, import duty shall not be imposed in respect of a— (a) new electric motor vehicle, imported for private use; and (b) used electric motor vehicle, imported for private use, which is not older than two years from the year of manufacture. (2) For the purposes of this section, “electric motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle, using only an electric motor for propulsion, referred to in the First Schedule to the Customs Act classified under Tariff Heading Numbers— (a) 8703.90.90; and (b) 8711.90.90.”; and Chap. 78:01 amended “Exemption re: electric vehicles No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021 13

(b) in Part A of the Second Schedule, in relation to ‘Articles for the Blind and Disabled’, by inserting the following: 13. The Securities Act is amended— (a) in section 156A(1), by deleting the words “five hundred thousand” and substituting the words “five million”; (b) by inserting after section 165, the following section: 165A. (1) For the purposes of this Act, “prohibited scheme” means a scheme in which— (a) a business is structured in such a way that the returns an investor or client earns is directly tied to the number of persons he recruits to join the scheme; (b) the amount of income a person earns while participating in the scheme depends on his rank in the scheme, where such rank is related to when a person joins the scheme; Chap. 83:02 amended “Prohibited scheme Item No. Goods exempt from payment of Customs duty “5(d) Articles certified by the Minister with responsibility for persons with disabilities as necessary for mentally or physically handicapped persons and admitted as such by the Comptroller.”. 14 No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021

(c) the amount of income a person earns while participating in the scheme is directly tied to or depends on his success in recruiting other persons to join the scheme; (d) a person is required to purchase a financial product or financial training offered by the scheme before he can participate in and earn income from the scheme, and neither the product nor the training can be offered for resale to the general public; (e) a person is required to pay an advanced fee, either as a lump sum or by instalments, in order to receive a larger financial return which is solely based on the number of persons recruited to the scheme; (f) part of the marketing or promotion of the scheme involves an assertion or statement guaranteeing or promising that participation in the scheme will result in returns which far exceeds the returns No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021 15

offered in the securities market; (g) an aggregate public scheme requires contributions to a pool of investment, and guarantees or promises a larger payout based on the number of persons recruited; or (h) an investment scheme provides an investor with returns derived substantially from investments made by other investors in the scheme, rather than from genuine profits— (i) whether or not the name “ponzi” is used by any person in connection with the scheme; and (ii) whether or not the scheme limits the number of persons who may participate therein, either expressly or by the application of conditions affecting the eligibility of a person to enter into, or receive compensation under, the scheme. 16 No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021

(2) A person who establishes or operates a prohibited scheme is liable on summary conviction to a fine of ten million dollars and to imprisonment for ten years. (3) A person who knowingly participates in a prohibited scheme is liable on summary conviction to a fine of five million dollars and to imprisonment for five years. (4) A person who knowingly advertises or invites another person to join a prohibited scheme is liable on summary conviction to a fine of two million dollars and to imprisonment for three years.”; and (c) in the Schedule— (i) in the Fourth Column, by deleting “$500,000” wherever it appears and substituting “$5,000,000”; and (ii) by inserting the following in the appropriate place at the end of the Schedule: Section General Description of Offence Criminal Penalty Administrative Fine “165A(2) Establishes or operates a prohibited scheme Ten million dollars and to imprison￾ment for ten years Up to $5,000,000 165A(3) Knowingly participates in a prohibited scheme Five million dollars and to imprison￾ment for five years Up to $5,000,000 165A(4) Knowingly advertises or invites any other person to a prohibited scheme Two million dollars and to imprison￾ment for three years Up to $5,000,000”. No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021 17

14. The Liquor Licences Act is amended in section 20B, by inserting the following subsections: “(6A) The gaming tax payable for the income year ending 31st December, 2020 shall be reduced by forty-two per cent. (6B) Notwithstanding subsection (6), where it is proved to the satisfaction of the Board of Inland Revenue that the holder of a licence has paid gaming taxes for the income year ending 31st December, 2020, the holder of the licence shall be entitled to have forty-two per cent of the taxes so paid, refunded to him.”.
15. Sections 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of this Act come into effect on the 1st day of January 2022. Passed in the House of Representatives this 13th day of December, 2021. Clerk of the House Passed in the Senate this 15th day of December, 2021. Clerk of the Senate Chap. 84:10 amended Commencement PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY THE GOVERNMENT PRINTER, CARONI REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO—2021 18 No. 16 Finance (No. 2) 2021