GRA spending $400M annually to rent and maintain buildings

Jun 12, 2022 News

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– as Govt. fails to construct building for permanent HQ

Kaieteur News – At least $400M is being spent annually for the rental and maintenance of buildings that house the operations of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

This has been happening for over two decades yet consecutive governments have found difficulty with building the national tax agency at least a permanent office for its headquarters.
This issue is being brought to the fore even as news circulated that the land that was earmarked for GRA to build a headquarters at Plantation Pattensen, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara was taken away and given to foreign hotel developer, Pasha Global. While the government has been silent on the decision to transfer the land allotted to GRA for its headquarters and give it to the hotel developer, the agency’s annual income and expenditure records show that GRA has been spending millions every year to rent and maintain buildings that house its operations.

An examination of GRA’s Annual Reports and Statements of Accounts, which was laid in the National Assembly from December 2010 to December 2014, revealed that each year, the tax agency spent between $80 million to approximately $400M monthly.
According to the reports, GRA’s rental and maintenance of buildings in 2010 cost the State $80, 110, 0690. In 2011, GRA’s cost for rental and maintenance of buildings stood at $77, 555,000. Then in 2012 rental and maintenance jumped from $77,555, 390 t0 $359,038,586. In 2o13, there was a slight decline in the cost. The rent and maintenance of the buildings for GRA cost the State, $346,015,418 and in 2014 the cost was slashed by half but it still cost the State $157,103, 581 to rent and maintain buildings for the authority. However, Kaieteur News understands that at present, the rent and cost maintenance of GRA buildings have shot closer to the $400M mark.
A source close to the tax agency noted that GRA’s rental and maintenance are determined by the number of buildings or facilities it rents to house its operations.Kaieteur News understands that in addition to renting the Camp Street facility to accommodate its main office, GRA rents at least four other facilities to house its operations, these include parking spaces and places for storage. The source told Kaieteur News not only is the revenue authority’s rental and maintenance bill costing the State but renting facilities to house GRA’s Main office has been relocated on several occasions.

“The tax office headquarters went from the Guyana Post Office building downtown to Albert and Charlotte Streets then to the former Clico building on Camp Street where it currently is, it is not right to have such an important agency without a permanent place to work out of. I think that is why the move was made to secure land to build a permanent place for GRA only for it to be taken away,” the source said
Meanwhile, Economic and Youth Policy Advisor at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Elson Lowe told Kaieteur News that GRA, as Guyana’s tax agency, should not be treated as an afterthought.
He stressed that “GRA has the responsibility of being the State’s main tax collection why doesn’t it have a place to house its headquarters? Is the question only the government can answer.”
“The GRA is the equivalent to what the IRS is in the United States but the IRS building in the US is massive and beautiful on it is in scripted the words: “taxes are what we pay for a civilised society, and the American people know the IRS is no joke because it’s treated as no joke. It is quite sad that after all these years of existence GRA does not have a permanent headquarters. I do hope it will change soon because it appears GRA has outgrown its current location and there is also the issue of not having enough parking for people who go there to conduct business.
The GRA is currently renting the former CLICO building on Camp Street from the National Insurance Scheme.
But Lowe says it would be more profitable for GRA to have its own facility with adequate parking and for the building to be rented to private entities.
“I’m sure a lot of private companies would want to occupy that prime piece of real estate facility because of its location and convenience,” he asserted.
GRA has been renting facilities to accommodate its headquarters.
Back in 2017, GRA had secured a 50-year lease for the controversial investment site, to build its headquarters. The land located at Plantation Pattensen, Liliendaal, ECD which was reportedly taken away from GRA, was originally intended for the construction of a multi-million dollar investment, sporting a luxury hotel and several other facilities. The venture fell through when the overseas investor breached its agreement with a local businessman.
Back then, GRA Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia had told members of the media that the building which currently houses the GRA headquarters and almost 900 employees is no longer sufficient.
He said that the GRA has since acquired the land from the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GL&SC).
Statia had told reporters at a press conference that investors had not completed their payment for the plot of land at Liliendaal East Coast Demerara. The land was repossessed and leased to the GRA.
Earlier this year, GRA was in the process of inviting bids to commence construction of the building but before the revenue authority could have gone through with its plans, it was revealed that the land was transferred back to a hotel dealer.

 

 

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