Dear Editor,
Firstly I must commend the Commissioner General for the milestone achievement of Guyana’s tax history, VAT, which I see will benefit everyone one of us once the teething effects are over, and the issue of price gouging by some unscrupulous businesses is gone.
The Government has been working hand in hand with the private sector throughout the planning phase of VAT into its actual implementation on January 1, 2007. I think the most growing concern was old stock.
The fact remains that the Government gave ample notice to the public, more specifically businesses, (potential registrants) for registration. As I recall in Dr. Ashni Singh’s Press Statement on November 28th, 2007 the deadline of December 15, 2006 was announced for businesses who were interested in reclaiming taxes paid on their December stock. This meant that businesses who qualify for the relief ought to have reduced prices.
The reality is that prices of most goods went up. This act of raising prices is very serious because it burdens the purchasing power of us consumers.
Whether registered before December 15, 2006 or not, what some businesses have taken the initiative to do is recalculate their prices for the sake of their loyal customers and in so doing maintained or even reduced their previous selling prices.
I see this as a plus for both the business and also the consumer.
Other businesses should realize there must be benefits for initiatives, hence they should do they same.
We all need to give VAT a chance to work.
Yours faithfully,
Mark White
