With the new tax regime coming in force effective today, the fees for parking meter cards will be reduced.
The Value Added Tax (VAT), which was currently being charged at a rate of 16 per cent, is included in the cost of the prepaid cards which are being sold citywide.
Consumers making their prepaid metered card purchases at vendor locations are asked to be vigilant in ensuring that the cost of cards are reflective of the reduced VAT of 14 per cent
Given that a quantity of cards was printed prior to the VAT rate being reduced, the total cost of the cards will have to be reduced accordingly.
The parking meter company, Smart City Solutions (SCS), will inform its vendors of the need to implement this reduction.
For example, where a card states a cost of $580, VAT inclusive, it will now be sold for $570, reflecting the VAT reduction from 16 per cent to 14 per cent.
Consumers making their prepaid metered card purchases at vendor locations are asked to be vigilant in ensuring that the cost of cards are reflective of the reduced VAT of 14 per cent.
Meanwhile, the confusion of the double charging of VAT for the parking meter services was clarified on Tuesday after a delegation from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) visited SCS.
The delegation was led by Commissioner General Godfrey Statia and Deputy Commissioner General Hema Khan, who met with SCS Managing Director, Amir Oren. In a statement, the GRA determined that the VAT being applied to the service provided by SCS is in compliance with the requirements of the VAT Act.
The Tax Authority explained that VAT is being charged by SCS upon the purchase of the prepaid parking cards at current VAT rates.
The VAT is, however, applicable to the consumer only at prevailing VAT rates when parking is transacted.
Despite immense public outcry, parking meters have been established throughout the capital city.
The implementation is divided into two phases, with the first phase of the parking meter project occupying 3237 parking spaces in Georgetown, utilising 157 parking meters.
The meters, intended to regulate traffic, are situated along Quamina Street, Water Street, Hadfield Street, Camp Street, Church Street, North Road, Robb Street, Regent Street, Charlotte Street, South Road, Croal Street, Brickdam, Avenue of the Republic, Wellington Street and King Street. Meanwhile, a newly formed group called the “Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM) will be seeking to engage the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of Georgetown to address numerous concerns regarding the implementation of the parking meters across the city.
The group is hoping to conduct a peace full protest on Friday.
