Dear Editor,
Forcing business persons to comply with the law is far from what the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) intends to do in a fragile but striving economy such as ours. What is expected by the GRA is that business persons be cooperative and uphold the law of the land.
At the introduction of the replacement tax-VAT, business persons realized that to keep their consumers they would have to bear or suffer some losses.
After the GRA realised that there was a situation with the consumption tax that was already paid by businesses, they asked business persons to be lenient with the consumers so that they (the consumers) will not feel the pressure. It was therefore left to businesses to decide what they would do to retain their valuable customers. This was a choice by business persons so that they could have retained their customers.
This decision was done voluntarily by businesses with no threat by the GRA. To claim that businesses reduced their prices and offered discounts because of GRA threatening jail and audit is ridiculous.
From the inception business persons knew that VAT would have left a paper trail and that audit would be one of the procedures they will face.
To clear the air on another point, the 30% consumption tax is no longer charged at the ports of entry since this is now replaced by VAT.
To this end GRA is not depending on the threat of audit to have an efficient VAT collection system. However, the GRA is depending on business persons who will cooperate with them by keeping the relevant records.
Yours faithfully,
Mark White
