Some foreign-owned businesses are not charging VAT though they are registered to do so. This observation was made by the Private Sector Commission [PCS] during a recent meeting with Minister of Finance, Mr. Winston Jordan.
The meeting was also graced by Commission General of the Guyana Revenue Authority [GRA], Mr. Godfrey Statia, who revealed that the GRA has already written to some embassies with a view to discussing the laws of Guyana as it relates to their nationals’ tax obligations.
Chairman of the PSC, Mr. Eddie Boyer, in response said that the Commission will undertake to urge other businesses to honour their obligation to pay their taxes too.
The recent meeting in session.
Mr. Statia also announced that the Single Window System will be implemented by June 2018 while the test phase will begin in September of this year. He added that GRA will begin operations in Morahwanna on June 1, 2017.
The meeting between the PSC comes as part of an agreement with the Finance Ministry to meet with the Commission on a quarterly basis.
During the meeting, the PSC delegation, led by Boyer, raised a number of other concerns including: VAT on tuition, the rehabilitation of hinterland airstrips, the two percent withholding tax, Tributors’ tax on the mining sector, VAT on the tourism sector, paddy bug infestation on rice, the current system employed by the Guyana Stock Exchange to value the shares of publicly traded Companies, the urgent need for Anti-Dumping and Mergers and Acquisitions legislation introduction of a Single Window System need for TSA compliant scanners at the airports to allow non-traditional cargo exports in passenger aircraft.
Minister Jordan, in response to some of those issues, reminded the PSC that all taxes will be reviewed for Budget 2018 and proposed that a working group is established to examine the taxes and concession packages for the tourism and aviation sectors.
The Minister also pointed to challenges facing the rice, sugar and forestry sectors and reminded the PSC that Guyana was told more than three decades ago that the sugar protocols would come to an end, but producers failed to seriously reorganize, and diversify, the industry. He warned that the “adjustment pains” now confronting the country will continue if “we lose this opportunity to create strategies that will ensure the viability of the sectors.”