GRA announces terms of amnesty for delinquent taxpayers

Following the announcement of an amnesty for delinquent taxpayers as part of the 2018 budget measures, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) is advising persons wishing to make use of the reprieve to contact its Debt Management Division and request a statement of the principal tax outstanding.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan had announced the amnesty when he presented the proposed budget to the National Assembly last November and he noted that it would be extended to both individual and corporate taxpayers who are outstanding in the filing of true and correct tax returns and payment of their true and correct taxes.

In a statement issued yesterday, the GRA said the amnesty is on interest and penalties for Income, Corporate, Property, Capital Gains and Withholding taxes up to and including the Year of Assessment 2017 (Year of Income 2016). It further said that the amnesty would be applicable to taxpayers who have principal taxes outstanding; non-filers, that is, persons who are delinquent in the filing and payment; taxpayers that filed their tax returns, but may have mistakenly underreported or understated their income or overstated deductions or credits; taxpayers who have deliberately not declared or under-declared their true income; and taxpayers who are already subjected to completed audits and a determination was made that additional taxes are owed to the GRA and the additional tax is still outstanding.

“This means that taxpayers who are delinquent in the filing of their true and correct returns and the payment of their true and correct taxes, will be able to voluntarily make their payments without having to pay the attendant interest and penalties,” it explained.

The GRA further said that principal taxes paid on or before June 30th, 2018 will have all interest and penalties waived, while principal taxes paid between July 1st, 2018 and September 30th, 2018 will have 50% of interest and penalties waived.

Taxpayers filing incorrect returns during the amnesty period will not benefit from the amnesty and will be subject to the attendant penalties, it, however, warned.

The GRA also noted that increased resources will be devoted to enforcement, and all attendant penalties for failure to comply with the tax laws will be applied thereafter. It added that requests can be made to its Debt Management Division, either in writing or in person, for a statement of the principal tax outstanding.