From election celebration to political buyer\u2019s remorse: Voters demanded change, but rising taxes, fines and fees are testing expectations of relief.<\/p>\n
01 | THE REJECTION: PNM MUST GO<\/p>\n
On March 28, 2025, Rehanna Bhimnauth declared: \u201cGreat WAS The pnm!!!!!\u201d<\/p>\n
A month later, following the UNC\u2019s election victory, she celebrated: \u201cPnm When Allyuh Leave we started to see we way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The PNM had become the problem. The UNC represented change, and change carried the promise of something better.<\/p>\n
But removing the problem does not guarantee finding the solution.<\/p>\n
02 | THE REALITY: THE PRICE OF CHANGE<\/p>\n
Since taking office, the UNC administration has introduced numerous increases in government taxes, fees and penalties. Traffic fines: Many doubled, with driving without insurance jumping from $1,000 to $10,000. Driving permits, licences and tests: Various fees increased. Priority Bus Route permits: $300 to $600 quarterly. Birth and death registration: Increased charges. Customs declarations: $40 to $80. Container examination: Charges doubled in specified categories. Environmental tyre fees: $20 to $40. Wildlife import fees: $100 to $200. Alcohol and cigarettes: Specified excise duties doubled. National Insurance: From 13.2% to 16.2% in January 2026, with a further increase to 19.2% scheduled for January 2027. Commercial electricity: New five-cent-per-kWh surcharge. Landlords: $2,500 registration fee and rental-income surcharge. Businesses: Additional financial-sector and other taxation. Government Plaza Parkade: Monthly parking increased by $50. Piarco Airport parking: Hourly $10 to $15, daily $63 to $95, and monthly $750 to $1,125\u2014approximately 50% increases.<\/p>\n
Higher airport parking charges were also announced for Tobago.<\/p>\n
The 2027 Budget additionally proposes a residential electricity surcharge on consumption exceeding 3,000 kWh per billing period.<\/p>\n
The Government has introduced offsetting relief measures, but its higher charges have also created additional costs for affected households and businesses.<\/p>\n
From traffic tickets to airport parking, the price of moving around Trinidad and Tobago is rising.<\/p>\n
03 | THE REGRET: THE BILL COMES DUE<\/p>\n
Now Rehanna asks: \u201cAnybody else TandTEC bills came double the usual amount???\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman who celebrated political change is now questioning the cost of everyday living.<\/p>\n
Her electricity complaint comes amid UNC fiscal policies that have directly increased numerous charges, with further electricity costs proposed for high-consumption households. The precise cause of her individual bill increase remains unverified.<\/p>\n
This is the political dilemma known as buyer\u2019s remorse: when the excitement of replacing a government collides with disappointment over the results.<\/p>\n
The greatest political regret is not necessarily discovering that you removed the wrong government. It is discovering that removing the government did not remove the problem.<\/p>\n
The PNM lost power. The UNC inherited responsibility.<\/p>\n
Voters wanted a change in government. What matters now is whether that change delivers relief or grief.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Are you better off since April 2025?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trinidad-and-tobago"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}