–Jagdeo says, rubbishes City Mayor’s proposal

THE government has made it clear that it will not grant any approval to the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) to revalue the properties and essentially impose higher taxes on citizens in Georgetown.
This position was solidified by People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary and Guyana’s Vice-President, Bharrat Jagdeo during a press conference at Freedom House on Thursday.
It was widely reported that earlier this week, Georgetown Mayor Alfred Mentore threatened property owners that legal action will be mounted if outstanding rates and taxes are not paid.

While this may seem like an innocent gesture from the mayor to collect more taxes so the city could benefit, Jagdeo said that this approach is laced with the opposition’s agenda.
The timing itself sparks questions, with the General and Regional Elections expected later this year.
“We have made it very clear that there will be no re-evaluation of any property, which means higher taxes for people, in Georgetown or any other part of the country,” the General Secretary told citizens.

Cementing the position, Jagdeo firmly stated: “The People’s Progressive Party will not support this, so I am making it clear that we will not approve any re-evaluation exercise for properties in the city, or in any other part of the country for that matter.”

He added: “If they approach the Ministry of Finance for that, the answer will be no.”
This proposal of Mentore’s, according to Jagdeo, is to create as much “dissatisfaction and unease” among the people.
“This is directly from the playbook of the PNC…” Jagdeo said.

The General Secretary related that he is on alert for these patterns of behaviour, in order to ensure that these actions are not committed, and citizens can be at peace.
Further, the Vice-President brought attention to Mentore’s plans to speak with individuals directly about unpaid taxes.

“That is a recipe for corruption,” he said, adding: “I would urge citizens to not go in there and negotiate any payments with the Mayor or any of his officers.”
Jagdeo further stated that the collection of taxes must not be done in a “partisan” manner.

He contended that while Mentore’s party, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R), appears to be getting away with its more than $6 billion tax debt, religious organisations are being hit with significant tax hikes.

“They can fund two years of City Council’s expenditure from just collecting taxes from Congress Place,” he said, adding that the outstanding debt is being swept under the rug.