Buyers urged beware of VAT rip offs

Guyanese shopping for basic goods should be careful that they are not conned by “rapacious” businesses who would want to charge more on items that attract Value Added Tax (VAT).

Finance Minister Winston Jordan said on Thursday that in an environment where every dollar saved is a dollar gained, consumers have to be far more conscious with all playing their part in making sure that “these rapacious businesses are either shunned or sidetracked”.

“We all have to become conscious of what is happening. I go back to 2015 when we removed all those taxes from those items. Even then prices remained the same or went up…Even if there was zero tax on any item this year; people would tell you why they have to increase their rates. And because we are unsuspecting customers we just buy and put it in the tray and pay.” He said people will continue to take advantage.

Jordan said while the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ministry of Finance have the responsibility of providing information on vatable and non- vatable items, other similar agencies have such responsibility.

“You have to admit this is not an issue only for GRA and the Ministry of Finance, the Private Sector Commission (PSC) who says that their members are good folks, the Chambers of Commerce and the Consumer Association, Ministry of business and other stakeholders to make people more aware. And clearly for the buyer. Buyer beware,” he cautioned.

When he made his presentation last year, Jordan had projected a rise in VAT collection of 1.7 per cent, amounting to $36 billion.

The Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has, however, long denounced the Government’s method of taxing its way to wealth generation. Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in Parliament, PPP/Civic Member Irfaan Ali has maintained that the expanded areas of taxation would increase the burden on Guyanese and local businesses.

Ali had observed that in relation to pharmaceutical and medical supplies, the cost of accessing private medical service would increase dramatically. But that’s not all. He had expressed that private medical staff such as nurses, medics, laboratory technicians and others may face the risk of losing their jobs, since patients would now be forced to seek medical service from public hospitals owing to prohibitive costs.