Dear Editor,
The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) over the past few days has seen several articles in the press and other news media attributed to the Auditor General’s 2018 report. While the GRA will respond to all within the next few days, I particularly wish to respond immediately to the contents of a Guyana Times news article on the Auditor General’s Report titled “GRA collects $217B in taxes in 2018”. Firstly, I must first admit how flummoxed I was to learn that leading media houses are in possession of the Auditor General’s Final Report for 2018 and I as a key auditee, did not receive a final version of such report.
At the time when there were initial leakages of the draft report in July/August 2019, I was prepared to give the Auditor General the benefit of doubt for its leakage since the GRA like other government departments are like sieves, and the press only reported on the GRA. However, in this instance, I have noted extensive coverage of all departments, so by deduction, this leakage may lie squarely and exclusively on his shoulders. This represents a breach of confidentiality; a fundamental tenet in the work and life of a professional auditor and is tantamount to professional negligence on his part, should such a leakage emanate from his Agency. Such negligence is surely one of the many criteria which would have allowed for sanctions were he a Professional Accountant.
That being said, I hasten to say that generally, and particularly, in this the “silly season” I am not inclined to respond to articles that cast aspersions before seeking clarity. However, when the competency and transparency of myself and the officers of the GRA is at stake, I have no alternative. I am sure if the GRA was approached, a detailed and comprehensive explanation would have been provided, then again this would have denied the media house such a sensationalized headline and reportage.
During a press conference which I held in early 2019, I provided to those present and the Guyanese diaspora, that the GRA’s total collection for the fiscal year 2018 was $198.5B. It is therefore unfathomable as to where the Guyana Times “would have seen” in the 2018 Auditor General’s Report, that the GRA collected some $217B in taxes, some 18.5 billion dollars more.
Another reason why I need to reproof this article is that such erroneous statement of the total tax collected in 2018 is that such a statements have been earlier used as a precursor to suggest that the GRA is over taxing the economy, since the growth in tax collected “is without corresponding economic growth”, an issue that I refuted and responded to in an earlier press release of August 20th, 2019. I again refute this insinuation since it is furthest from the truth. Increases in GRA’s tax collections are owed to significant improvements made over the years in tax administration and efficiency, together with increased revenues from the oil sector.
I wish to reiterate that since Budgets 2016/2017, no new taxes were rolled out in any of the subsequent Budgets. Conversely, the GRA, in pursuit of vertical and horizontal equity in taxation, successfully advocated for the reduction of tax rates and removal of the tax base that was creating compliance burden on taxpayers. In addition, a number of items in the annual Budgets are always removed from the standard rated category to the exempt and zero rated categories. With reduced bases and reduced tax rates for both individuals and companies in the manufacturing sector leading to reductions in the effective rates of taxation, the GRA did not introduce any new tax type to compensate for any shortfalls in revenue forfeited as a result of these measures.
Before naysayers attempt to vilify the work of the GRA and obfuscate the facts, they should not only look at the height of progress made, but also the depths which we came from. Albeit, I stand unfettered and unbothered as I continue to serve faithfully, the taxpaying public of Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Godfrey Statia
Commissioner-General
