After being accused by Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine of shirking its tax obligations for the past five years, the Giftland Mall has said that it is the city which has delayed an agreed settlement and then attempted to seek interest for the time that has elapsed.
On Friday, the Mayor told reporters that Giftland Mall, located at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara, owes City Hall over $103 million in rates and taxes. Narine also stated that Giftland has not paid any rates or taxes nor any interest on what is owed since the mall’s opening in July, 2015.
However, in a statement issued on Saturday, Giftland Group Chairman \said the company has been actively pursuing City Hall for the last five years in an effort to have the issue amicably settled. Beepat claimed that former Town Clerk Royston King had negotiated a settlement but in three years despite many attempts to have this drawn into a binding written contract, it was never completed by the city.