Saisnarine Kowlessar, who served as Finance Minister between 1999 and 2006, has been appointed to chair the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Board as more board appointments were made by the Government.
New GRA Chairman Saisnarine Kowlessar
The announcement was made by Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh. Kowlessar, who also has a long-standing academic career lecturing at the University of Guyana, will serve alongside Bank of Guyana Governor, Dr Gobind Ganga.
Other appointments to the new GRA Board include Finance Ministry official Sonya Roopnauth, Sukrishnalall Pasha, Lennox Benjamin and GRA Commissioner General Godfrey Statia as an ex-officio member.
Meanwhile, Minister Singh also announced the appointment of former Private Sector Commission (PSC) Chairman Ramesh Persaud as the new Chairman of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) Board.
Persaud, who is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED), also serves as a member of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Board.
The other members of that Board who will be serving during his tenure are NIS General Manager Holly Greaves, who is serving in an ex-officio capacity. Also on the Board are Government Members of Parliament (MPs) Faizal Jaffarally, Seepaul Narine and Yvonne Pearson, as well as Accountant Maurice Solomon, Satanand Gopie, Kathleen Jason and former MP Gillian Burton-Persaud.
Former PSC Chairman Ramesh Persaud will now chair the NIS Board
The new GRA Board will be tasked with overseeing policy and the multitude of tax measures that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government passed in the emergency 2020 Budget back in September.
These measures included rolling back the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) and duties on mining equipment. Other equipment normally used in agriculture also had VAT removed. VAT was also removed from exports, cellphones, medical supplies, and building and construction materials, as well as pesticides and agricultural chemicals. The Government also rolled back VAT on electricity and water; a measure that ensured everyone could benefit from VAT reductions.
Corporate tax was also removed from private health care and education, thereby clearing the way for foreign and local institutions to invest in Guyana. The Government also rolled back the restriction on the importation of used vehicles older than eight years, which will allow thousands to own their own vehicles. (G3)
