As struggling Western economies are forced into taking austerity measures, sunny Barbados has gone the other way and is cutting the number of homeowners liable to its annual land tax.

In its August budget the Government of Barbados announced that the tax free threshold for its annual land tax (on the value of a property) is to rise from BDS$150,000 to BDS$190,000, meaning a raft of homeowners who previously paid tax no longer will.

The BDS$3.3 billion budget did, however, confirm that while no new taxes are being introduced this year, measures implemented last year, including a 50% increase in excise on gasoline, a rise in public buss fares and a VAT rise from 15 to 17.5%, will remain in place.

Finance Minister Chris Sinclair also revealed plans for incentives to improve the tourism and business sectors – good news for anyone who lets their holiday home in Barbados – as well as tax reductions for homeowners and businesses that make their properties more energy efficient.

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