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Kaieteur News
Thursday October 04, 2018
Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL Editor: Adam Harris Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
INEQUALITY
A RESPONSE TO NIGEL HINDS’ LETTER DEAR EDITOR, The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) wishes to respond to the inaccuracies contained in a letter appearing in the September 30, 2018 edition of the Kaieteur News titled ‘Guyanese relegated to drive old vehicles’ from the writer, Nigel Hinds. The GRA finds it necessary to provide some clarifications. It is clear that the writer is not ‘au fait’ with the changes in legislation.
In the 2016 Budget, excise taxes on vehicles less than four years old not exceeding 1500 cc was zero rated, while those in the 1500 to 2000 cc category was reduced from 30% to 10%. This saw a reduction of total taxes by 33.06% and 16.53% for the 1500 cc and 2000 cc categories respectively (see below). This category accounts for approximately 90% of the vehicle imports in Guyana.
T
he reopening of schools this year across the country for the new school year on September 3 was in no way significantly different from previous years except for the fact that teachers were absent from the classrooms. This was due to the strike staged by teachers for increased wages and better working conditions. During the strike, most parents kept their children at home in support of the teachers whom they felt were being disrespected by the Ministry of Education and the government. However, even though things eventually returned to normalcy after both parties agreed to arbitrate their dispute, people ought to know that teachers who are responsible for nurturing and shaping the minds of children and guide them to success have been without a contract for the past three years. It is true that a number of teachers are being paid starvation wages, therefore the government should negotiate in good faith and pay teachers decent wages. However, as has become typical and expected under this administration and its predecessor, a number of schools including two nursery schools in Linden and several others in outlying areas of the country were not opened on the first day of school due to the lack of repairs. Schools that need repairs would send their requests to the Ministry of Education, but the ministry was slow to act. Slothfulness has become endemic in this government. Many other schools opened despite various problems such as broken chairs and tables, leaking roofs and no running water to wash hands or flush toilets, among others. Several schools on the East Bank of Demerara including Grove Primary School have been plagued with such problems, which are negatively impacting the effective functioning of students. Disgruntled parents have complained about these problems for years but their complaints have fallen on deaf ears. The failure of the government to address these perennial problems in public schools across the country should be cause for concern. This government, which prides itself on Excellence in Education has done very little to prove its claim. In fact, it has continually reduced the education budget. Today, large numbers of poor students in public schools are at risk of being left behind because of the prevailing social circumstances and due to unqualified and inexperienced teachers and the lack of resources. They are the ones who are affected by school closures due to defective and degenerating school buildings. Their future development could be in jeopardy if they are not provided with optimal learning conditions. Yet the government comforts itself with the thought that there is equal opportunity for all to have a chance to get a good education. But a deeper examination into the public education shows that most of the public schools in the country are not equipped with the teaching skills and resources for students to achieve excellence in education. The claim by governments that they allocate equal resources to all schools is not true. Equal treatment in public schools has never existed, therefore, the principals at the Ministry of Education need to think more along the lines of equity, because there is no gain saying that in our tiered education system that is supposedly based on meritocracy, all are not equal. The authorities must stop being disingenuous and acknowledge that the public education system is broken and needs fixing. It is not meeting the needs of many students, particularly those who are desperately in need of a fighting chance to forge a path towards individual competence and success.All are not equal in our schools.
Motor vehicles similar to Allion, Honda Accord, Camry, etc referenced in the letter usually fall in these two (2) categories, paying taxes as follows.
From the above tables, it can be seen that the writer has not kept up to date with current reform, thereby utilising incorrect values and rates resulting in overstating taxes by 201% and 165% for these two categories. Mr. Hinds’ reference to a buyer importing a 3000 cc as an “economy class vehicle” is flawed, as this category is considered “high-end” vehicle. In fact, manufacturers now use the latest advances in technology to produce vehicles with lower cylinder capacities to consume less power while increasing torque. Leading vehicle manufacturers now promote the use of eco-friendly vehicles such as electric, hybrid, and LPG vehicles. Recognising this, and from the perspective of creating a ‘Green Economy” the Government has exempted these categories from the payment of excise taxes notwithstanding the negative revenue impact. Mr. Hinds opined that many illegal schemes are used to avoid the tariffs. Even registration of ‘written off’ vehicles is being recycled with smuggled vehicles from Suriname. The GRA agrees that such schemes are not only used to avoid vehicle tariffs, but are utilized in every facet of tax evasion by unscrupulous taxpayers, who are many times aided and abetted by tax professionals and Customs brokers. GRA with its limited capacity is sometimes overwhelmed by such evasion and whenever caught, confidentiality rules do not permit the publication of “shame on you” lists of the evaders and their abettors. It is clear however that the writer may be in receipt of
information that will help to minimise this activity and the GRA will be grateful for him to so supply same under its current whistleblower policy. Lastly, the writer states the “Guyana vehicle tariff regime is antiquated, archaic, and visionless that has resulted in restrictive and oppressive and irrational vehicle import tax rates”. This is far from the truth, as Guyana is poised to take the lead in the region and soon implement the most modern version of the Harmonized System 2017 version of the Common External Tariff (CET). This legislation is in keeping with obligations to the World Customs Organization, and seeks to include provisions for new commodities, technological progress, changes in trade patterns, clarification of texts, environmental issues, simplification and consistency. The GRA remains firm in its commitment to achieve its objectives. It is willing to advise concerned parties not only on the correct interpretation and application of the laws as it relates to imports, but for every tax that the Authority administers. The Authority therefore calls on every citizen to do their part and join the whistle blowing scheme being administered by the Authority. This will allow for the payment of the rightful tax by persons with the ability and the earned taxable income to pay, thereby allowing for an expansion of the tax base, which will result in a reduction in rates and in the incidence of tax for all taxpayers. Guyana Revenue Authority
DON’T BLAME THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION DEAR EDITOR, The Times Newspaper of September 27, 2018 on page 10 carried a story under the caption, “Govt. Turning Blind Eye” on Rice Section’ – Region Two Farmers. I do not know what are these farmers’ expectations, but what is known not only by these farmers but every person in this region and perhaps not only in this region, is that crop after crop, year after year, and this has been going on for decades, is that the farmers in this country are totally dissatisfied with the price, the grade, the weight, the terms of payment, etc. The question is how efficient and effective is the Rice Producers Association (R.P.A.) in this region? Taking into consideration
that the R.P.A. is seen as an arm of the People’s Progressive Party (P.P.P) and has a very close working relationship with the Party— as far as I can recall all of the R.P.A. General Secretaries were P.P.P. Members of Parliament, while other persons related to that association are known party activists. That is an indisputable fact.So when the P.P.P. was in Government, the expectations were that strong representation would have been made at the Regional and National levels on behalf of its members who are rice farmers. Again, I am saying that the issues that are seriously affecting the rice industry existed for a very, very long time and nothing has changed in the way most millers do business with the farm-
ers, particularly in Region Two. So, to put the blame squarely on this Government is unfair. Criticizing the Regional Executive Officer is being unfair and unreasonable, because even when the
R.E.O. was a P.P.P. appointed person and the Regional Chairman was elected from the P.P.P. list of candidates, this situation unfortunately was not better.But it would (Continued on page 6)
Guyana Politicians the least trusted by its citizens - IDB Report DEAR EDITOR, You need to retract this article immediately. The writer totally misunderstands the chart, which is a negativity chart. For example, the higher the rating, the higher the distrust; the lower the rating, the lower the distrust, putting Guyana and Canada as the least distrusted governments on the chart. Canada might only have been included to emphasise Guyana’s premier trusted position in the regional rating. Sincerely, Lynette Baptist