While the Government has argued that the amendments to the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act are to assist the “overwhelmed” Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to close the loopholes and catch tax cheats, the opposition yesterday accused it of being dictatorial and turning the country into a totalitarian state.
Finance Minister Winston Jordan held up the amendments – part of the slew of changes that will be made to various acts to effect the measures presented in the 2017 budget – as one of the “strengthening measures” to be given to the Commissioner General of the GRA but the two speakers on the opposition side said that some of the amendments interfere with the rights guaranteed to citizens under the constitution.
