Million$$$ in tax refunds delayed

Jul 26, 2014 News

… incorrect filing blamed

Gross negligence on the part of a large number of taxpayers – employers and employees- to submit accurate tax returns to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) continues to stymie the processing and payment of refunds.

GRA says that millions of dollars in tax refunds delayed because of incorrect filing.

According to GRA’s Commissioner-General, Khurshid Sattaur, hundreds of millions of dollars were allocated to pay refunds after authorization was given to prioritise the processing of refunds to Pay As You Earn (PAYE) taxpayers for the Year of Assessment, 2007-2012 and subsequently 2013.
However, GRA has been unable to process refunds since numerous employers either have failed to submit required information or have not provided sufficient or accurate ones, deeming employees ineligible for refund payment.
“Where amounts stated as PAYE deducted on the Employer’s Return (Forms 2) did not match the taxpayers’ declaration on their return, the refund could not be processed,” Sattaur said.
To date, approximately 15,820 refunds have been processed.
Based on data analysis regarding the Years of Assessment 2007 to 2013, more than 81,000 taxpayers with refunds had no Forms 2 information submitted by their employers.
“The analysis also revealed that for the period 2007 to 2013, there were over 6,308 taxpayers whose declarations showed that they were in a refund position of $1000 and over with a cumulative value of over $146M. However, based on verification, these persons were not eligible for refund payment.”
“In a majority of cases, GRA found that Forms 2 (Employers’ Returns) were either never submitted or were submitted, but flagged at the stage of lodgment for not corresponding with the return of the employee among other anomalies. For Years of Assessment 2007 to 2013, approximately 14,800 Forms 2 were outstanding.”
There are approximately 2,131 submissions for the Years of Assessment 2007 to 2013 that remain in the lodgment state pending further processing.
“The Commissioner-General continues to implore taxpayers, particularly employers, to honour their statutory obligations to file their Forms II and/or remit PAYE in a timely manner.”
GRA said that it has been publishing the names of persons eligible for refunds on its website and is working fervently to process pending transactions.
“The availability of refunds hinges on several factors, among them assessments of the taxpayers’ returns, and employers’ remittances, as well as corroboration and reconciliation of submissions by the employer and employee. Once eligible, the taxpayer is contacted to ascertain whether he/she wishes to visit the GRA to uplift the refund cheque or have it mailed.”
Cheques are also sent to regional offices to supplement the effort of fast-tracking payments and to make it convenient for taxpayers to uplift them.
GRA said that over the years, it has been hosting workshops and seminars at no cost to the taxpayer to educate them on the computation and filing of various tax returns including Forms 2 in an effort to foster better voluntary compliance.