SCORES of Barbadians appeared to have the same plan yesterday.
A mad rush to receive discounts by paying their land tax bills before October 22 resulted in long lines at the Barbados Revenue Authority’s (BRA) Bridgetown and Warrens branches.
When a DAILY NATION team visited the Bridgetown branch yesterday morning, it was greeted by a long line which snaked out of the office and past the traffic lights located at the junction of Bridge Street.
A further check revealed that only three cashiers were working inside the branch.
One man, when asked how long he had been in the line, said “since 1961”, much to the amusement of others waiting.
He eventually said he had been forced to exit the line after standing for over an hour without much progress.
Sheila Headley said the line was moving slowly.
“I haven’t been here that long, but the line isn’t really moving. But I am thankful because I have life; it could be a lot worse,” she said.
A man who claimed he had been in the line for over an hour and was yet to make it inside the office, said he had been paying land tax for years and couldn’t remember it ever being this bad.
“This is the worst I have ever seen the lines,” he added.
Another woman claimed she had been forced to abandon the line after begging her employer for “a few minutes” to pay her land tax.
“These lines are too long. The BRA has to do better than this. There is no shelter and if the rain comes down there is going to be chaos because people have nowhere to shelter.”
Efforts to reach communications officer at the BRA, Erica Lazare, proved unsuccessful. (RB)
