Latest update January 8th, 2025 4:30 AM

Guyana's largest selling daily and New York's most popular weekly

Latest News

Town Clerk with the required qualification

Jul 02, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
It is rather shocking and indeed disappointing that some very senior municipal officials of the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown are apparently ignorant of the difference between ‘General Rates’ and ‘Property Taxes’. The distinction is extremely important and should not be flippantly interchanged as it is particularly misleading.
For some time now the citizens of our capital city have been subjected to what is either the poor use of English Language, a deliberate act of deception or a complete lack of knowledge by persons who are in leadership positions at the City Council – who refer to general rates as rates and taxes.
At the moment, crude attempts are being made to embarrass defaulting property owners in the Garden City, in a reckless effort to force them to cough up scarce monies so that the fat cats at City Hall could continue on their spending binge of paying enormous salaries, doling out cash to contractors who were never subjected to transparent tender processes such as the Toilet Fiasco etc.
But as they rashly go down this self-serving path, someone needs to tell the Mayor, Councillors, the Town Clerk, the Public Relations Officer of the Council and the host of a ridiculous programme titled ‘Georgetown on the Move’ that general rates must never described as ‘property taxes.’
Such solecisms by municipal officials causes much confusion to property owners when they are confronted with property taxes which are leviable by the Commissioner of the Guyana Revenue Authority, on the total property of taxpayers which comes into consideration when the owner of landed property seeks to sell or transfer it to another, requiring the obtainment of a Certificate of Tax Compliance from the GRA.
The confusion arises when the seller of that landed property is being asked by the GRA to provide property tax return claims, which they quite wrongly believe that they have already paid to the city council whose officials quite inaccurately but colloquially refers to as ‘rates & taxes’ in their public statements rather than general rates. This is why the Council needs a Town Clerk with the requisite legal qualifications as specified in the job description of that position.
James McConnell

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | December, 2nd, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Alarm in West Indies over radical two-division plan for Test cricket

Alarm in West Indies over radical two-division plan for Test cricket

Jan 08, 2025

The Telegraph – The England & Wales Cricket Board will meet with officials from the International Cricket Council at the end of January to discuss plans for a radical new two-tier system in...
Read More
After 18 years hiatus, West Indies arrive in Pakistan for Test series

After 18 years hiatus, West Indies arrive in...

Jan 08, 2025

Uniting through Futsal

Uniting through Futsal

Jan 08, 2025

Westside Golf Course Opens 2025 with $100K Hole-in-One Challenge

Westside Golf Course Opens 2025 with $100K...

Jan 08, 2025

Hardaiow, Mahabeer cop best batter and bowler prizes at Everest Masters annual awards ceremony

Hardaiow, Mahabeer cop best batter and bowler...

Jan 08, 2025

FL Sport extends support to Polly’s Nursery School in North Ruimveldt

FL Sport extends support to Polly’s Nursery...

Jan 08, 2025

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.

Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]