Dear Editor,
The Minister of Finance/ Commissioner General (ag) of the GRA should put in place appropriate measures to require that every holder of a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) certificate file tax returns on or before 30th April each year.
These returns should be done irrespective of whether it was a nil return (no income earned), income earned, but less than the annual threshold, and of course, above the threshold.
This measure should not be considered a further burdensome hardship on the Guyanese taxpayers but an obligatory requirement for all those who possess a TIN certificate. Of course the GRA will grumble at the extra work, but it is time for them to get off that part of their anatomy upon which they sit and get out there in order to rake in all legally due revenue.
The current status quo is untenable and has been so for many years, thus contributing to the general apathy, malaise, indiscipline and lawlessness that perennially pervade our society. What is happening now is that GRA is pursuing honest TIN holders and ignoring the errant, lawless and tardy ones.
Surely the information technology system of the GRA can spew out the names and addresses of all those who have TIN certificates and link them to those who have not submitted tax returns since the TIN certificate was issued. Those who have not submitted should be written forthwith with a letter of demand to submit their returns within a specified timeframe.
In the end it may very well come to a situation that before the holder of a TIN secures a job the TIN Certificate would have to be stamped on the reverse side by GRA thus ensuring that all Tax Returns are up to date.
In conclusion I would advise all TIN holders and employers to uplift their income tax forms as soon as possible since there always seem to be a scarcity of these precious and limited forms close to 30/4.
Yours faithfully,
Roger A Bhulai