Open to reasonable taxation
A body representing internet café owners says that it will comply with any reasonable taxation imposed on their businesses and warns that the blocking of internet calls will severely affect over 7000 persons.
The Internet Interest Holders Group, a body of internet café owners and managers which was formed following the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) announcement that it will pursue and prosecute such business that offer international telephone calls over the internet since it was “illegal”, is appealing to the government to help resolve the issue.
In a press release, issued under the name of Netsurf Manager, Stephen Thomas, the Group said that last week’s blocking of Voice Over Internet Protocols (VOIP) on Dialup and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) by telephone company, Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GTT) will force many businesses to close their doors and send home staff since they cannot afford to retain their services.
It said that this move targets some 600 internet cafes, which accounts for about 7200 persons. “The more alarming issue is that this move comes around a time when the United States of America is in the middle of one of the worst depressions in its history”, the statement said adding that since the unemployed persons cannot afford to pay their utility bills they may possibly be forced to become desperate and begin illegal activities.
The statement assured the GRA that it will comply with any reasonable taxation that will be determined by legislation and appealed to the government to make the necessary adjustments to resolve the issue “so as to ensure stability in this sector”.
The group said that the effects of the move will also indirectly affect the national foreign exchange take since “the poor people who use the internet are persons who are trying to cut back on expenses and would be forced to minimize the time spent on long distance calls to their friends, family and business colleagues internationally”.
It asserted that on previous instances, the government ruled in favour of services like Mediaring and Dialpad signaling their interest in innovation in the telecommunications sector.
The statement declared that the restrictions and limitations on the use of these services is a blatant attack on the rights of citizens to the use of the internet. It asserted that the telephone company’s blocking of VOIP’s and VPN’s implies aggressively that the company’s services must be used to make international calls which happens to be more expensive and said that the service and rates of the GT&T can be much better. GT&T could not be reached yesterday for a comment.
For quite some time the internet in Guyana was known as an avenue that allowed persons to communicate and share information internationally with greater advancements as technology and education developed, the group said. Businessmen have observed that there is potential in the internet in developing a new revenue base, the Group observed. It appealed to the public to support the lobby for lifting sanctions against the internet.
The GRA, in a statement late last month had said that a large number of persons and entities have become illegally involved in the international telephone call business and the entity is moving to prosecute them. “These individuals and businesses have essentially created illegal telecommunications networks that employ authorized VSAT equipment for unlawful purposes or VSAT equipment without the requisite licenses, SIM banks, broadband, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and international Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) providers like Vonage, Skype, and Packet 8 to offer outbound and inbound voice calls to the public for a fee. These operations are illegitimate and essentially result in tax evasion since no revenue is paid on these calls,” the GRA had declared.
It had said that such operations are increasing rapidly and its calculations indicate that their collective impact on the national revenue collection effort is too significant to ignore. Government has supported the revenue body and urged the entity to aggressively pursue the tax evaders and enforce the law.
The internet group urged public support via emails to icoauguyana@yahoo.com or by phoning 698-6153.
The internet cafes should be allowed to remain but they must pay any back taxes and NIS contributions. The question, however, is when GT&T will give up this monoply they hold.
Hi Stinking toe we already paying 16% vat and the phone rates in Guyana is about the second highest in the world,imagine Afghanistan is lower than us,i say know to any taxes or closure of internet cafes.
whats wrong with you people complaining. Guyanese lov to complain. if their were given $ tomorrow they would still complain that they shoud a get “lil mo” what kind of nonsense people talking about people becoming criminal and involve in illegal actitivy because the rate of telephone call will go up. People come on this is not a Need to make call this is more like a leisure pleasure to people. If u dont make calls to US or other countries will not make much of a difference. As long there is food in the pot that is what matter. Tax is revenue to Government which is spent back for the nation. Paying tax will enable the government to know how much money these internet cafe is making and not declaring or pay any tax. lets dont jump to conclusion the price was not set as yet and i am pretty sure it is going to be much less than GT&T rates.I know it is more strain on the people who were paying next to notting to call the US but this is how a country is run.
Guyanese need to wake up, rise up stop, stop taking nonsense, the government is a dictatorship.
i think the the pll in the revenue departmet are mad..and i think they on stupidty….cayse live in guyana is hard and they want to make it harder….
This government should be arrested and taken before the International Court of Justice for human rights violations.
Cool! How about you volunteering to be one of the arresting officers. ;-)
Guyana needs some new and young blood in the Government. They also need to set a financial qualification for anyone that is running for public office. The problem is not the internet or keep the poor down, the problem is that the government officials are trying to make money for themselves because they don’t have.
If you put a poor man to run a country, he will spend most of his time trying to become rich and would not give a damn about the people.
Guyana is a year or so away from becoming a force in the region, all they have to do is to change the government from extreme socialism to a medium of socialism and capitalism.
Open the doors in business and empower the people to start new businesses and utilize the CARICOM structure.
What is going on is an example extreme Marxism and socialism.
Re: “Guyana needs some new and young blood in the Government. They also need to set a financial qualification for anyone that is running for public office. The problem is not the internet or keep the poor down, the problem is that the government officials are trying to make money for themselves because they don’t have”. Well, let them do without the money from these entrepreneurs as it was this government that was instrumental in the closure of the Guyana Cooperative Agricultural and Industrial Development Bank (GAIBANK) from whose operations they could have been making tons of cash.