The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is reporting that for the first quarter of 2017 earnings from the Value Added Tax (VAT) are at least 10% less than for the same period last year.
While Commissioner General Godfrey Statia has equated this decrease to the reduction in the rate of VAT from 16% to 14%, Chairman of the Board Rawle Lucas has reminded that VAT revenue is directly linked to expenditure and any analysis of VAT revenue must take into account the level of spending and the level of imports. VAT has been pivotal to tax earnings.