Why the excessive scrutiny by GRA?

Aug 08, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

This is an open letter of the current dispensation of income tax audit and assessment that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) engages rice farmers in, with particular reference to the Essequibo community. In recent period there has been an increase in audits of rice farmers’ income tax submissions. Whether it is GRA’s right to perform these audits as part of their responsibility to enforce the preparation of the income tax returns and to make payment of taxes is not debatable. What is the matter is the increase number of visits of tax personnel to the persons who submit their returns. GRA needs to recognise two very important acts of compliance by rice farmers. Firstly, if rice farmers take an interest to make submission of their returns it means they are tendering their accountability. It means that they are decent, civil minded, law abiding citizens with a sense of responsibility to their country. Secondly, the ordinary rice farmer does not have the capability to prepare the accounts required for compliance. The preparation of these accounts would most obviously be done by accountancy services. More so, the preparation of these accounts will necessitate a fee which is an extra responsibility the ordinary man, without the knowledge of accounts preparation takes to ensure they upkeep their responsibility. So it begs the question why the excessive scrutiny by GRA? Why is it necessary GRA, to have repeated visits and enquiries by your personnel and further requests for the farmers to visit the offices of GRA? Persons are being subjected to high levels of scrutiny repeatedly by GRA staffers to the point where it leads to frustration. The disclosures persons have to make which includes years of marriage, living arrangements of family members are ridiculous. In the current context, a number of factors must be taken into consideration in the assessment of income. The small, ordinary rice farmer has no fancy accounting system established to trace every transaction undertaken in the production of crops. The absence of the elaborate record keeping system required by GRA is nonexistent. There isn’t a regularized system of preparing taxes for these farmers. When the farmer decides to go and check his crop in the morning, he doesn’t pay himself a salary for this and makes out a receipt. When he decides, he has to clear weeds, he is not in the habit of asking the ordinary labourer for a receipt of payment. Nevertheless, the weed has to be cleared for the rice to grow properly anyway. In cases like these where legitimate transactions are not tracked what becomes the requirement especially when looking at historical transactions for a few years back? There is no established recipe for the production of a bag of paddy. The prevailing circumstances both environmental and economic dictate the outcome of paddy production. The cost of fuel, the cost of fertilizer, the invasion of pests and weeds, the management of the crop, the effects of the weather such as dry season can see an increase in the cost of production for pumping water for irrigation, land preparation and maintenance to infrastructure such as roads, the infestation of bug which has recently become one of these circumstances, etc. are some of the issues which impact on the cost of production. All of these are genuine events that will likely be encountered in any rice crop. These events would not affect the farmers even in the same area simultaneously. Then how does GRA considers these cost factors at time of making their assessment which is done retroactively, as these are some of the areas of heavy scrutiny by their staff who lack the understanding and knowledge of these peculiarities?
Farmers in rural areas have a different concept and culture of their livelihoods. Their spending and saving habits will likely differ and be prioritized and reserved to improving their lives and this will be reflected in how their income earned is spent. Scrutiny with regards to their standard of living should be accounted by these factors. The hard and fast methods that GRA is subjecting farmers to are burdensome and frustrating and require a re-examination of the audit process. From the above, a certain competency is now required of the GRA staffers. Further, it will be beneficial to both parties if some training can be provided for farmers or some sensitisation programme is undertaken. Without any consideration or corrective measures, it would be rather imposing to regularise a system in such a way.

Sincerely S. Mohamed

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