RESIDENTS of Barima-Waini (Region One) will no longer have to travel outside their region to access the services of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), now that a tax office has been opened in the town of Mabaruma.

The Integrated Regional Tax Office was opened on Monday, January 28, 2019, by Finance Minister Winston Jordan, in the presence of Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Godfrey Statia; Region One (Barima-Waini) Regional Chairman, Brentnol Ashley; the Mayor of Mabaruma, Chris Phang; and other public officials.

Minister Jordan said that opening of the tax office meant that residents of Region One would no longer have to travel to Georgetown to conduct their business with the GRA.

Delivering brief remarks, the GRA commissioner-general said the regional office had been on the agenda since 2016. “In 2016 when I joined the GRA, I know for sure that we had planned to have an office here; so I sent up a team of persons to look into it and they came back and said all is okay, we should go,” Statia recalled.

However, finding a person to manage the regional office had proven to be a difficult task because of the geographical location of the region. “I eventually got Mr. Kadir and he came down here only to find that the facilities that were afforded GRA at the time were sadly lacking,” he said.

In January 2018, the commissioner-general led a team to Mabaruma, where they met with regional officials to discuss the importance of having a tax office in the town, and the need for a building to house the office temporarily.

According to Statia, the councillors, without hesitation identified a building following continuous consultation with the authority. The tax office will be temporarily housed in the building provided before relocating to a permanent location.

“The GRA will ensure that you get the services that you deserve and we hope you would contribute to the taxes as you earn,” he urged.

In expressing their appreciation, the regional and local officials pointed out that establishment of the office there would encourage residents to be tax- compliant.
Mayor of Mabaruma, Chris Phang, said residents were now breathing a sigh of relief, knowing that they would no longer have to travel to the GRA headquarters in the city to access its services.

“We will achieve a great lot by collecting taxes,” he posited, while expressing optimism that government would be able to execute more developmental projects.

“Together we can transform the region, setting an example for the rest of the world to follow. With these words I am appealing not only to the residents of Mabaruma, but also to the rest of the region to take full advantage of the services being provided by the Guyana Revenue Authority,” Phang urged.

The regional chairman applauded the move by GRA as he too urged residents to capitalise on the services being offered at the facility. He said that, in the absence of a tax office in the region, many residents were exploited when they sought to have documents such as a TIN Certificate. Ashley said that the region looks forward to working closely with the GRA, central government and its agencies to improve the lives of residents in the region.