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GRA never sought over $1B in owed taxes from NFMU
Another case of gross violation of Guyana’s financial laws has been identified by forensic auditors as
Forensic Auditor from Ram and McRae, Chris Ram
they combed through the accounts of the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU). Auditors found that the entity has never paid taxes to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). What is worse is that it appears that GRA never bothered to press the Unit to pay up.
The forensic auditing team from Ram and McRae, Chartered Accountants, said that even as a body established under the Public Corporations Act, the NFMU does not enjoy any tax exemption. They noted in their report that over its existence however, the NFMU has never paid any on its net profits.
For accounting purposes, the auditors said that the expenses for other agencies are treated as expenses of the NFMU which is incorrect. They said that these amounts should have been shown as advances to the Government.
The auditors said that after adding back these expenses which in any case are not allowed for tax purposes, a preliminary calculation suggests that the NFMU has a liability to taxes of more than $1B, not including penalties and interest.
To comply with the law, the forensic auditors suggested that the tax liabilities should be determined and a set-off made for payments on behalf of the Government. They said that the government should then consider whether the relevant legislation should be amended to provide any exemption from taxation.
The auditors said, too, that they saw no evidence that the Guyana Revenue Authority made any effort to access
NFMU Head,
Valmiki Singh
the NFMU and get any taxes.
The GRA under the leadership of former Commissioner General, Khurshid Sattaur, had spoken many times about the need to clamp down on tax evasion. In fact, Sattaur had pointed to auditors as being the major players in such an illegal activity.
In a previous interview, he said, “The root of the illegal practice is the executives of major companies who are allowed to live extravagant lifestyles due to the aiding and abetting that takes place between them and their auditors.” He also denounced comments that tax evasion was rampant under his watch.
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