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Attorney General disputes assertions of tax-free benefits for Anti-Money Laundering Committee
…says no member will receive salary
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, on Monday disputed claims that members of the soon to be established Anti-Money Laundering Committee will receive tax-free benefits.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams
The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2018, which was passed on Friday by the National Assembly, paves the way for the establishment of the Committee once the President assents to it.
Williams said an online article, which detailed the concerns of the opposition that the Attorney General, who will head the Committee, will get tax-free offers under Section 7G of the Bill is erroneous and misleading.
According to Williams, it is clear and unambiguous that the Committee itself is the entity that the law seeks to exempt from any tax liability and not the Attorney General and members of the Committee.
Clause 7G of the Bill states that the Committee, its assets, property, income and its operations and transactions authorised by this Act, shall be exempt from all taxation including customs duty, consumption tax, capital gains tax, corporation tax, income tax, property tax and purchase tax, and the Committee shall be exempt from payment of any tax or duty whatsoever.
Further, it states that no taxation of any kind shall be levied on any obligations or security issued by the Committee.
“Nowhere in the provision is it mentioned that members of the Committee will be exempt from any taxes. Taxation laws demand that the law must clearly state who will be taxed and who will not be taxed. In the case of clause 7G it is specific that only the Committee is exempt. It is important to note that the Committee is a statutory body akin to a Board, an Agency or an Authority,” Williams pointed out.
He said it is only things belonging or related to the Committee that are exempted from taxes.
Williams outlined that the list excludes salaries of member of the Committee or anything belonging or related to members of the Committee.
“In fact, no member of the Committee will be receiving a salary as only staff of the Committee may be paid a salary. This is because all members of the Committee are ex officio members and therefore will not be in receipt of a salary,” Williams outlined.
Apart from Williams, the Committee will also include the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Governor of the Bank of Guyana, The Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit, the head of the Special Organised Crime Unit, the General Manager of the Guyana Gold Board, the Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, the Chairperson of the Guyana Securities Council, the Chairperson of the Gaming Authority and the Chief Cooperatives and Development Officer.
Further, Williams noted that prior to the establishment of the Committee, the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act contained an identical provision relating to the Authority, which the Committee replaces.
Opposition Member, Juan Edghill, during the debate on the Bill had raised questions about the tax-free incentives and the Attorney General becoming the head of a budget agency.
But according to Williams, the tax-free provisions are standard because if the Committee is chargeable to tax then it would amount to the Government taxing itself. A search of other legislation, he stated, would reveal a similar provision with respect to other statutory bodies including the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Guyana Revenue Authority, National Sports Commission and Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority.
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