THE Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has taken approximately 30 private school operators to court last year for failing to file the Pay as You Earn (PAYE) for their staff, as well as for not filing their Value Added Tax (VAT).
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Commissioner-General Godfrey Statia made it clear that his entity will not allow tax payers to continue evading the system. “In November of last year, I had to take every single educator, except about six persons, to court for non-filing of their returns and non-payment of their taxes that they would have actually collected on behalf of GRA,” disclosed the GRA head.
He said his entity has discovered that the private schools (those culpable) have been deducting PAYE from the teachers’ salaries and don’t pay it over to the Authority. While he was not in a position to divulge details on the court matters, the Commissioner-General urged reporters to inspect the court’s records on the matter to get details.
Statia pointed to the “hue and cry” about paying VAT on private education last year, while noting that while the tax has now been removed from the tuition, school fees have not been reduced. “We are putting out a press release and I have said, parents are asked to ensure that they don’t pay VAT now,” said the GRA head. Last year, during the presentation of the 2018 National Budget, Finance Minister Winston Jordan announced the removal of VAT on private education. The move by the administration to withdraw the tax followed much criticisms and protests since its announcement.
Jordan had argued that the tax was introduced as part of government’s initiative to widen the tax base. Services provided by private educational institutions were standard-rated, while educational supplies previously zero-rated were exempted from the payment of the VAT.
VAT on private educational services was removed with effective January 1, 2018. The removal of the tax was welcome news for all private education providers, students and parents who have been demanding that government consider their circumstances.
Meanwhile, in 2017, the Finance Minister had said that there were 86 private schools operating in Guyana and many of them make huge revenues. Fees range from between $144,000 and $300,000 annually, which do not include extra lessons, uniforms, books and coaching fees, among others. The top eight among these private schools rake in fees estimated at over $2 billion annually, Jordan had stated.
Notwithstanding, Statia said efforts will continue to ensure that all private education providers become tax compliant as government stands to lose about $342M as a result of the tax removal.
