Doctors and lawyers: GRA has an opportunity to collect

Sep 17, 2017 News

---

By Leonard Gildarie

In the newspaper business in Guyana, there are a number of complaints that grace our

Saffon Street offices week in and week out.
The top five for me are police abuse, property disputes, disgruntled ex-employees blowing the whistle on their work-places, the state of our roads and drainage and business competitors who simply want to use the media for their own ends.
Many of the persons are genuine. They believe that the only means to justice is by having the complaints published.
We have to be doubly careful when interviewing these persons. Many a time, on fact checking, we find that the persons did not visit the Labour Department or the Police Complaints Authority or the relevant persons and bodies.
They would leave gladly after being told to pursue that option and more than likely we never hear from them again.
Many of them are poor people who have nowhere to turn and just want some advice. Such is the daily grind at the newspaper.
We have a serious problem with lawlessness in Guyana. From persons not paying their traffic tickets to minibuses and taxis undertaking at traffic lights (see Eccles). We also are contending with homes and other buildings built in contravention of the approved plans by the relevant councils.
People build bridges, blocking drains or providing no options to having them cleaned.
The councils would tell you of the owners threatening them or even calling somebody big to handle the matter.
We also have a culture of not paying our rightful share of taxes.
I have a major problem with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). I like what Godfrey Statia, the current Commissioner-General, and his team are doing.
I have quite a number of sources at that entity and the establishment has been rocked to its foundation because of a number of changes.
Very quietly, staffers who for years have got away with their rackets of collusion with importers to under-invoice containers and even write up entries that state bicycles instead of flat-screen TVs, are finding themselves in deep trouble.
Quite a number of them have been sent home. The Berbice Anti Smuggling Squad (BASS) was disbanded. Imagine Berbice where smuggling from Suriname is rampant, that the collection up to last year barely made enough money to cover operational expenses.
In Essequibo, in border areas of Region One, in the Waini area, we hear tales of army and police officials and Customs being paid off.
One former army official even boasted that ranks loved it when they are told of being posted to border areas. There are serious monies to be made for security officials to turn a blind eye.
The recent discovery of an illegal airstrip in Region Nine should be an eye-opener for all. There are allegations a senior cop knew and facilitated the building of the airstrip and even lent protection to the plane landing.
I diverted a little. GRA, because of resources and other constraints, is concentrating on ensuring the current taxpayers are doing the right thing. This has been a major problem for years now.
We know of groceries, minibuses, barber shops, businesses down Regent Street, and generally business persons who are living in mansions but seem to have no evidence of a steady job.
Yet the poor are being made to pay.
If you happen to have an accountant friend, and I do, ask him or her about the practice by many of the businesses who have two books- one for the taxman and the other reflecting the correct transactions of the day. One book shows lower sales and therefore less tax for GRA. Guess which one is given to the taxman? You should also know some GRA staffers even help some businesses with preparing their tax returns.
I can go on and on. I have received some calls, from friendly businesses, who cautioned on treading certain areas.
Talking about taxes, it appears, is taboo in Guyana. The culture is changing.
The introduction of tougher anti-money laundering laws is causing quite a number of persons and businesses to be discomfited.
I have seen complaints of someone visiting banks and then suddenly being asked to produce identification and birth certificates and proof of address to prove that they are who they say they are.
New laws allow GRA under special circumstance to ask for details of your bank account.
The world has changed. Recently, I read in Kaieteur News of the US sharing information with Guyana, providing a list on who smuggled gold to New York.
Investigations here reveal that forged documents were tendered at the airport at Timehri to show a lower amount of gold.
However, you can’t lie to the US border security folks. The correct amount had to be declared. So there is a trail of evidence to suggest a racket that involved personnel stationed at the airport, including Customs.
The point is that we are in different times. Rules of engagement will have to be observed by all if we intend to be in the game. I will come back to this another day.
Recently, an overseas doctor expressed his deep worry about the hospitals here. He said that based on his experience, the private hospitals are running rackets. Many of them are sending patients to conduct unnecessary tests which cost an arm and a leg.
The doctor insists that the hospitals pay little attention to the files of patients. Rather, almost every patient is treated as a first-timer and made to conduct a battery of tests.
However, it is what he said that made me sit up and take notice. There are independent doctors at each private hospitals, some of whom work in the public health care system who collect millions each month.
The doctor advised that GRA be more vigilant of private hospitals and doctors. Millions of dollars are falling through the holes of the pocket of GRA weekly because in the majority of the cases they are all cash transactions.
We also speak again of the lawyers. I have more friends in the legal field than in the medical one. I hold them dearly. But many are raking in millions of dollars from property sales, cases and fees.
If you check their tax returns, it is probably less than what some reporters pay annually.
So yes, we do have some problems in our systems.
GRA has some opportunities to collect. It has to also start looking elsewhere, broadening its scope and collection.

---

---