Dear Editor,
The APNU regime recently made a proud announcement that it has greatly increased revenue collection. The figures released are impressive.At the end of February this year, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) collected .4B. This is 123% of the sum collected during the same period in 2016, which was .4B.
Of that huge amount, tax revenue was 20.5B. This was an almost 29% increase from what it was in the same period in 2016. The amount collected in taxes then was .9B.
What is appalling about these figures is the fact that this was achieved during this period of a shrinking economy.
It is well known that the regime has already sent home almost 2000 persons at GuySuCo. This is mainly from the closure of Wales Estate.
At other estates, they are greatly reducing operations, leading to a fall in production and loss of income by workers.
The private sector is also complaining bitterly of the slowdown in business generally. This is very noticeable in the city, as many commercial areas that were once hives of activity are now virtually empty.
A recent article in one of the dailies highlighted that container cargo fell 12% this year, compared to the same period last year. This clearly shows the drastic decline in disposable income that the masses of people are experiencing.
As a result of this slowdown, private sector employers are under great pressure. They are cutting back and are also forced to dismiss a large amount of their staff. Many working people are now unable to pay their mortgages.
One of the big problems with the commercial banks in Guyana is bad loans. A large part of this is loans to the housing sector and to agriculture. This is because the Government has failed to stimulate the economy and keep it growing.
The dire situation in the productive sector — the real economy — is extremely worrisome, as production continues to fall. The Bank of Guyana Report for March 2017 spoke about a fall in sugar production from 5,200 tonnes in 2016 to 3,700 tonnes in 2017, over the same period last year. During that period, bauxite production dropped from 281,000 tons in 2016 to 229,000 tons in 2017 — a fall of nearly 20%. Lumber production went from 25,319 cubic metres to 21,900 cubic metres in the same period 2016 to 2017.
Despite the obvious fall in economic activities and the decline in wealth production, the increased revenue extracted from the population needs to be examined.
Where did the money come from?
It is obvious it did not come from increased value of importation, as the Government stated. It came from great pressure being put on the people.
Among the taxes that have brought in much revenue to the state is the Value Added Tax (VAT). The regime has turned this tax into something that is very repressive and heartless.
It is now placed, not so much on value added to products, but more on essential items that people must use every day.
When the PPP/Civic Administration introduced VAT, it was careful not to make it oppressive on the people. It exempted more than one hundred items from the VAT. These included foodstuff, educational materials, medicines, etc.
All of these were reversed by the APNU regime. Worse is the taxing of education services. This is really criminal, since it can doom us to a condition of backwardness and perpetual poverty.
It is also instructive to understand what the increased revenue is being spent on. Expenditure year on year at the end of February 2017 was billion, compared with .6 billion in 2016 — a 55.9% increase in spending, and clearly not anything productive.
If one were to examine Government’s public works, one cannot escape the fact that almost all are projects which the PPP/C had in-progress, and for which it had garnered funds already.
The East Coast highway, the West Coast highway, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, just to name a few, were all PPP/C projects. The additional expenses that this Government has are related to the bureaucracy, its administrative staff.
We have seen the huge salary increase it has given to itself just after taking power.
Clearly, the increased revenue has been, and is being, extracted from our people to maintain the lavish lifestyle of the elite.
Indeed, the APNU regime has become very parasitic.
Sincerely,
Donald Ramotar
Former President
