-strengthens GRA boss’ hand

THE Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill 2016 was passed unchanged in the National Assembly on Thursday night, thereby paving the way for the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to institute garnishment against defaulting taxpayers.Finance Minister Winston Jordan defended the Bill despite the Opposition’s chant of the amendments being “worrisome,” saying it will strengthen the hands of the Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority and catch the many tax dodgers.
Opposition member Priya Manickchand, elevated as a spokesperson on economic issues for her party, said her main contentions lie in Sections 45 (1) and 51. Manickchand told the House that in the case of Section 51, the Amendment which is to insert “where judgement is granted against a taxpayer, in favour of the Revenue Authority and the taxpayer is a customer with a bank, trust company, credit union or other financial institution, the Commissioner shall by demand or notice, require the bank, trust company, credit union or other financial institution to remit the amount payable to the Revenue Authority as a debt owed to the State,” seeks to allow GRA access to bank accounts without an order of a court.
She argued that the move by the APNU+AFC administration is concerning, as in any civilised country when judgement is granted there is a process before which levying is done. “Section 51 is going against any other process we know…they are not going to court…they are just going and pick this up…no office should be vested by the kind of power,” she stated.
Section 102 of the Income Tax Act Chapter 81:01 has been revised to provide authority to the GRA to garnish funds from bank accounts held by taxpayers, who have outstanding tax arrears. Meanwhile, speaking to Section 45 (1), Manickchand said the “one-line amendment” seeks to remove the proviso and substituting the colon for a full stop. “Section 45 (1) really worries me …now the Commissioner will decide that a person owes taxes…and without a court order say this person can’t travel. It is removing a proviso we had before.”Manickchand in her argument stressed the need to petition the court before barring persons from travelling, because they have outstanding payments.

“What is the problem when going to the court? GRA has lawyers…we have not been given any reason in this over the last two years to trust that a provision like this is not going to be misused.”
She described the move by the government as “draconian” and noted the need for the rules of natural justice to be utilised at all times. “We must always give citizens a hearing…before their rights are infringed. Every person should be able to travel freely except with a court order,” She declared.
The Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) urged the government to “leave this proviso” and “pass this Bill by taking that amendment out. Turning her attention to Section 73 of the Bill, Manickchand said under the amendment, larger penalties for those deemed to be non-payers and called on the Minister of Finance to “show us your bona fides” and remove the proviso. “Show us you are genuine and not dictatorial,” demanded Manickchand.
But even as the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) parliamentarians argue that the amendments will contravene the rights and freedoms of Guyanese, the Finance Minister said firmly that the GRA is only going after those whose taxes are not up to date.
“The bone of attention is who are we going after? Are we going after any person whose taxes are up to date…we are going after all the crooks,” he said. Jordan told the House that the “burdened taxpayer has asked us to say ‘enough is enough,’” amid loud thumps by his colleagues in approval. He argued that the move is geared at strengthening the commissioner- general to ensure that he goes after tax dodgers and cheats.
“We don’t want to deprive any person of their right to travel. We are targeting those who are cheating the taxes…Many people who paid NIS and PAYE are finding themselves in trouble when they turn up and their NIS and PAYE have not been paid,” Jordan said, describing the situation as a “travesty.”
“We cannot, as a House, be seen to be leaning on the side of tax dodgers,” said the Finance Minister.
Meanwhile, the Bill seeks to amend the VAT Act, Chapter 81:05 and the amendment increases the limitation period under the Act from three years to five years. Additionally, the Bill increases penalties for offences under the Act. Sections 33, 35 and 65 of the legislation have been amended to reflect a revised Statute of Limitation. The Statute of Limitation stood at three years under the VAT Act, thereby preventing the Commissioner from conducting additional assessments after that period.
Jordan argued that the lack of resources led to advantage being taken of the system and noted that the GRA was overwhelmed by the tax in terms of filings, and the like. Persons, he said, enjoyed the freedom they received by virtue of the statute of limitation as they hoped the entity would not get around to them. “This measure is an attempt to plug a loophole while giving GRA a bit more muscle when it comes to VAT. VAT is a very important tax for the economy,” he said, while noting that since its implementation, it lost its importance because of the various measures put in place to weaken it.
“This is a strengthening measure,” he declared, noting that five years allows for adequate time for the review of taxpayers’ records.