Less than 300 taxpayers account for 68 percent of GRA total revenue - GRA Boss

Less than 300 taxpayers account for 68 percent of GRA total revenue – GRA Boss

Jun 22, 2018 News

By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell

What better place to talk about tax evasion than a room filled with influential businessmen and women? Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia, did not miss out on this opportunity yesterday as he delivered a presentation at Private Sector Commission’s (PSC) Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Statia’s presentation was vast, but perhaps one of the more startling aspects was the percentage of taxpayers shafting their obligations to the Authority.

GRA Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia

Statia revealed that “less than 300 large taxpayers account for 68 percent of total revenues collected by the GRA.”
Kaieteur News understands that these 300 taxpayers account for both companies and persons who opted to remove themselves from the corporate person into an individual person.
He said that notwithstanding this “fact,” small and medium size businesses provide employment to the vast majority of the Guyanese work force.
Statia went on to note that the composition of the private sector in developing countries is different to developed countries. He said that almost half of private sector activity in developing countries is in the informal sector and is not registered with, or taxed by, government.
He said, however, that as countries develop, these informal activities typically transition to formal small and medium enterprises.
Statia said that the transition is important because the formal sector generally offers better conditions for workers, greater access to finance higher growth potential, and benefit from easier access to government services such as electricity and water.
Further, Statia said that formalization also makes it easier and more cost effective for Governments to register and collect revenues from businesses by bringing them into the tax net thereby widening the tax base.
Earlier this year, Statia told Kaieteur News that GRA raked in some $170B for 2017.
He said that the collection of new taxes and going after tax defaulters significantly contributed to this success.
At a Press Conference, Statia said, “We have been targeting persons who owe us and have not been paying, so arrears collection has increased. It is a sizeable amount.”
Statia said that if the top 10,000 taxpayers pay their correct tax, the base would be broadened to reduce taxes for the rest of the populace.
“As long as we get those persons doing what they are supposed to be doing, I am sure taxes will be improved,” he said.

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