Court rules tax exemptions for Chancellor, Chief Justice unlawful

Justice William Ramlal

Six years after a challenge was mounted by now retired judge William Ramlal, the High Court has found that a law granting tax exemptions to the Chancellor and Chief Justice to be discriminatory and unconstitutional.

It has not been established that the differential tax treatment has a legitimate aim…I find that Section 13 (a) [of the Income Tax Act] contravenes Article 149D of the Constitution in so far

as it confers tax exemptions on the Chancellor and Chief Justice only and excludes other judges of the Supreme Court,” Justice Fidela Corbin-Lincoln said in her ruling, which was handed down yesterday.