Latest update January 30th, 2025 6:10 AM
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Tax exemption available for old age pensioners using bank systems
Pensioners using the banking system to collect benefits can apply to GRA for exemption.
Kaieteur News – Old age pensioners using the banking system to collect their monthly benefits should be aware that there may be deductions for taxes when using that system.
Kaieteur News understands that Withholding Taxes will be deducted from the saving account of the pensioner, if he or she fails to apply to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) for compliance for a waiver or exemption of those taxes.
This newspaper was told that in the absence of the waiver, persons with saving accounts at commercial banks are subject to deductions of Withholding Taxes. As such, pensioners are being urged to apply to the GRA for the waiver, where necessary, particularly in cases where their yearly income does not exceed $780,000.
The regulations also emphasise that any such person should approach the GRA for compliance. The information follows an announcement by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security as it introduces a bank payment option for old age pensioners.
According to information posted on the Ministry’s Facebook page, pensioners need to complete a Bank Application Form providing their name, address, ID or passport number, bank account number and name of their bank. Pensioners can uplift this application form, free of cost, from any of the Ministry’s offices and sub-offices countrywide or download it from the Ministry’s website.
The form has to be signed and returned to any of the Ministry’s offices. Once the pensioner is using the banking system, the Ministry said that the pension book must be surrendered at any of the Ministry’s offices.
Minister of Human Services, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, has been encouraging pensioners to utilise the banking system. During a recent press conference, Minister Persaud announced that the Ministry would be promoting the use of the banking system as a method of pay out for pensioners. Under this system, Dr. Persaud said that the payment would be made directly to the bank account of the pensioner between the first to fifth day of each month, following which the pensioners can access the funds whenever they wish.
“So this is making it easier for them and we would like to really encourage persons who have bank accounts to utilise this service, so again it would reduce the lines that we see and the number of persons squeezing up to receive their pension,” the Minister stated.
She also addressed the issue of collecting pension under the current system. The Minister emphasised that she is totally against the lining up at all of the locations where pensions are paid.
“Once the monthly payment starts every day, people can go in and get their payments. There is no need for everybody to go on the first day that the pension is paid. There is an alphabetical system that they use, so you can go in any day and uplift your pension and I really hope that pensioners will make use of this, it really hurts my heart a lot, when I see so many of them out there,” she added.
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