Three taxi services are among the first to be recommended by the Guyana Taxi Services Association (GTSA) for a 25 percent exemption on import tax for vehicles for hire car operation.
Yesterday at the Cowan Street, Kingston base for Patrick’s Taxi Service, proprietors from the Sheriff Taxi, Green Ice Taxi and Satellite Cabs received their letters of recommendations from the GTSA.
Explaining the procedures, president of the GTSA Patrick Brassington said that if someone is desirous of starting a taxi service and is planning on purchasing a vehicle they can apply for the recommendation.
Brassington added that once the recommendation is granted, taxi service operators can take it to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to continue the process of importing a vehicle.
However before the recommendation is granted, Brassington said that interested taxi services must be a member of the GTSA, must write the GTSA recommending that the owner of the vehicle be approved for partial tax exemption, and the recommendation letter from the taxi service must include the make, model and chassis number of the vehicle as well as the name of the owner, a copy of his/her national ID and TIN.
Once granted the exemption by the GRA, the driver of the car has to stay in the taxi business for five years before resorting to private use. This measure is to ensure that persons do not enter into the business just for the exemption, Brassington pointed out.
He noted also that both the GRA and the GTSA will be monitoring the cars that are granted exemption as part of a standard operating procedure.
Currently there are 40 taxi services which are a part of the GTSA, including the three that were provided with the import tax exemption letters.
Cairan O’Toole, owner of Satellite Cabs located in Parade Street, Kingston, said the recommendations “mean a lot more to us.” His taxi service has been in operation for “a few months,” he said, and the exemption will lower the cost of importing vehicles and this would allow him to upgrade his service to better serve his customers.
The exemption is being offered as an incentive for other taxi services to join the GTSA. Brassington noted that GTSA would like to see the industry regularized, adding that the body was the only legal one representing the sector as a whole.
