The
Aliens Landholding Regulation Act (ALRA) of Anguilla
There is a view (which I share) that ALRA is obsolete, and
unnecessarily holds up development in Anguilla.
It ought to be repealed without delay, if the economy of Anguilla is to
get a long overdue boost from dealings in real property.
ALRA was originally enacted by the Imperial
Parliament in London in about the year 1914 to prohibit the German armed forces
acquiring bases around the Empire. It
was based on the California Alien Land Law of 1913, designed to prevent
Mexicans purchasing property. After
1918, it was repealed everywhere in the British Empire except in the small
islands of the West Indies which had neither the resources nor the initiative
to repeal it.
As tourism grew in our islands in economic
importance, and Ministers saw the opportunities opening up for extracting brown
paper bags of money from ‘investors’ in exchange for granting licences, the
argument was invented that the Act was needed to keep out undesirable
foreigners. The truth is that such power
existed under the Immigration Act. But, the Immigration Act did not offer as many
opportunities for under-the-table deals as ALRA did.
ALRA was misused as a form of Planning
Act. This was a misuse because
foreigners could be compelled in exchange for a licence to follow arbitrary
planning policies that did not apply to locals. Instead of passing into law a proper, modern Planning
Act, which might prove to be unpopular, governments could put up a show of
being concerned about the environment, and force foreigners to comply with
standards that were often arbitrarily set, and frequently waived for the right
consideration.
ALRA was misused as a tax-raising law. Foreigners would have to pay an extra 12.5% of
the value of the property in addition to the 5% paid by locals. Not only was this bad for being essentially
discriminatory, but it put off many decent investors who might have wanted to
buy a holiday home and to hold on to it for a few years before reselling it. It made developed land difficult if not
impossible to turn over at a profit. The
result is that many valuable properties have been developed on the island that are
now essentially unsellable. This is to
the disadvantage of the public purse, which would welcome the stamp duty on a
sale.
Of course, the ALRA tax provision was
frequently waived by governments, no doubt for an acceptable private consideration.
This was as a result of ALRA
specifically providing that Executive Council may waive the payment of the
tax. In my opinion, it would prove more
profitable to government if ALRA was repealed and replaced by an increased tax
on all land transfers under the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act tax is safe because it
cannot legally be waived by Executive Council, and the revenue would thus be
guaranteed.
The result is that ALRA performs none of its
intended objects. It does not keep out
Germans, who are not at war with us. It
does not restrict any foreigner who is either willing to put up with the
onerous and exceptional provisions that will apply only to his land ownership
in Anguilla, or who is willing to pay for someone to front for him, or to pay
some other consideration. It does not
serve as a consistent or fair planning instrument. Nor, given the many notorious exceptions that are
made by governments when they issue ALRA Licences, does the Act raise significant
amount of revenue. The Act stands
completely discredited as a fraud and an invitation to corruption. In my view, it should be repealed.
The repeal of this Act will not enable
undesirable foreigners to buy up all the land in Anguilla, as some Anguillians
fear, unless the government permits them to do it. They permit it by failing to enforce the Immigration
Act, failing to prosecute Anguillians who front for foreigners in breach of
the existing law, and failing to pass a modern Planning Act and modern Planning
Regulations.
