M&CC to finally pursue $6.4B unpaid tax from PNC

…as mayor agrees that party should honour tax obligation

The Mayor of Georgetown, Alfred Mentore, on Tuesday disclosed that the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (GM&CC) would be moving to recover an outstanding debt of $6.4 billion owed by a company affiliated with the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R).
This debt, largely stemming from taxes unpaid for properties, including the PNC/R’s Congress Place Headquarters, has sparked a debate over financial accountability and governance within the city. In fact, the municipality’s decision comes some six days after Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo called on the Council to take decisive action against PNC/R amid a strike by City workers who demanded salary increases – allegedly adding to council’s financial constraints.

During his weekly press conference last Thursday, Dr Jagdeo criticised the City Council for its failure to address this significant revenue gap, highlighting its detrimental impact on workers and the city’s development.
Further, he expressed frustration at the Council’s inaction by stating, “The pool of money that I’m talking about, that they refuse to go after, is $6.4 billion, based on an assessment, a demand letter that went out from the City Council… For the many, many years, it never paid taxes to the City Council for the entire massive property that they have at Congress Place. They owe $6.4 billion now, they would not pay it, and the City Council will not go after them”.
Dr Jagdeo also underscored the Central Government’s substantial financial support for Georgetown. Projects such as road repairs, drainage improvements, and the development of recreational facilities have been undertaken by the central administration, whereas those responsibilities fall under City Council’s jurisdiction.

In response, Georgetown Mayor Alfred Mentore, acknowledging the need to pursue all outstanding debts, including those owed by political parties and businesses, has emphasized a broader approach to revenue collection by stating, “We have a big revenue stream to go after, and that includes political parties, businesses, and citizens at large…I even seen what I’ve seen, the Honorable Vice President of this country speak to that and also suggest that we have a big revenue stream to go after, and those also include all kind of persons.
“He spoke about political parties, and I agree we will have to be considered and all those persons will have to be addressed, including businesses who will have to honour their obligation to us,” the mayor said.
These remarks were made during a statutory meeting aimed at addressing pressing affairs of the Council.
According to Mentore, the municipality would work collaboratively to find workable solutions that incentivize compliance and spur investment in the city’s infrastructure.
“In order for us to honour the obligation, this can be from the 50 or 52 percent of the people that pay us taxes, we need to increase that…but at least we could find ways of how we could be able to settle different transactions…and solutions that incentivize them to be able to do better, employ more people or probably invest in infrastructure, whatever it may be,” he added.