Despite the “hue and cry” about the application of Value-Added Tax (VAT) to private education last year, “all but six” private schools are now before the court for failing to file returns and for the non-payment of taxes they would have actually collected on behalf of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Commissioner-General Godfrey Statia said yesterday.
Statia told a press conference that Guyanese taxpayers evade paying taxes in every category and that the GRA would have earned approximately $70 billion more than it did in 2017 if everyone paid their fair share.
He noted that the high rate of tax evasion has resulted in several court cases, including at least 30 against private education institutions.
He stressed that while the
