Dear Editor,
While enjoying Ed Sheeran’s ‘After-glow’, which has the opening line “Stop the clocks, It’s amazing”, my mind wandered to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) because it has stopped its clocks on making timely payment of tax refunds. It’s not amazing but exhausting and unjust.
I have been waiting since November 2018, according to GRA’s written notice, for a ‘small change’ tax refund – over two years and two months for less than a $100,000 refund. This year while actively following up the matter through direct contact with a seemingly polite GRA officer in the relevant department, I have experienced the typical ‘royal runaround’. And that’s no way to treat senior citizens, or anyone at all.
Stabroek News of Monday, January 4, 2021 carried the headline: “Finance Minister urges more timely payment of tax refunds by GRA”. What has GRA done since to achieve operational efficiency in order to make timely payment of tax refunds? What policy inputs towards eradicating this dilemma has the new GRA Board of Directors made?
I’m sure thousands of tax payers here, as well as those who migrated, would like to know.
Sincerely,
Lloyd Conway
