-businessman threatens lawsuit, says being targeted over criticism of gov’t
The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) yesterday said that it will probe the leak of tax information pertaining to Terrence Campbell and the businessman has threatened legal action over the matter and says he is being targeted over his criticism of the government.
Campbell, who has been vocal in his criticism of the government, believes that his tax information being made public is a calculated act aimed at intimidating him, even as he vowed to not buckle under any pressures.
“The illegal release, and illegal publication, of my tax affairs will be addressed both criminally and through civil action… GRA may not be able to identify who released it, but it’s still illegal and GRA has a duty to prosecute or call for the prosecution of persons. They have a duty to warn that they will prosecute. Forget Terrence Campbell, you don’t want to open the floodgates to this behaviour,” he added.
The GRA for its part, says that is has launched an investigation into the leaking of Campbell’s tax information and has issued a stern warning to its employees that the leaking of tax information is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment.
“Every GRA employee has sworn an oath of confidentiality; further, the break in confidentiality by an employee have the potential of jail terms being imposed by a court of law of up to two years under the Revenue Act,” GRA Commissioner General Godfrey Statia told Stabroek News yesterday when contacted.
“This present leak is being investigated, as to source et cetera…,” he added.
A letter from the GRA to Campbell informing that it had granted the waiver of penalties and interests on a request from Campbell back in September of 2020, was published on the Guyana Daily News platform.
Guyana Daily News’ Editor, Neermala Ramsaywack, yesterday said, “The post published is no lie,” and that she would not “be intimidated” by Campbell or his threats.
Campbell said that the issue is a serious one and that everyone should put politics aside and view the issue from the perspective of having their personal tax information documents shared with the world.
Nastiness
He posited that tax laws are there to protect people’s personal financial information and it is why the United States takes so much caution in ensuring privacy. He said that sharing the personal financial information of persons for political purposes shows that this country has descended into “a new level of nastiness and lawlessness.”
“You see any of the newspapers in the US release IRS documents on Trump’s taxes? You think they didn’t have it? Do persons here know it is illegal to even make public, tax documents, even if it is found on the road? How can we get like this?” he questioned.
“Those associated with government would engage in this type of lawlessness because they believe they are shielded from the law. I personally don’t care how much they attack, but the incivility is real,” he added.
He said that he was also shocked to see public figures making fun of his illness and fight with cancer in the name of politics. “Imagine asking Santa for a prostate aimed at me. How low can you go to use people’s illness? We all would get ill at some point. This is just showing where we are heading,” he lamented.
Campbell says that since he went vocal with his positions on the handling of the country’s Natural Resource Fund (NRF), he has been the subject of profuse personal attacks.
In early December, Campbell had declared the NRF Board to be a rubber stamp and that his efforts for justification for withdrawals from the Fund had been stymied.
He also posited that the lack of transparency in the spending does not satisfy the provisions of the Natural Resource Fund Act and that Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo wanted to “cop out” of government’s responsibility to provide to the nation, a breakdown of how it spends the funds.
Campbell later filed a complaint with the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) against Jagdeo for allegedly making racially inflammatory remarks during a press conference on December 12, 2024. He said that Jagdeo’s comments were intended to provoke racial hostility and ill-will. According to Campbell, Jagdeo’s actions violate provisions in both the Racial Hostility Act (2002) and the Cybercrime Act (2018).
Chief Executive Officer of the Ethnic Relations Commission, Gomin Comacho, has told this newspaper that the inquiries are still active.
Campbell said that he understands that the pressure to attack him will increase, but wants his critics to also know that he is prepared and “just won’t stop for nothing ” in his quest to see Guyana and Guyanese get the lawful, just benefits they all deserve, regardless of race, colour or political affiliation.
