Amid a contention by analyst Christopher Ram that the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) is overstated by a whopping $274b because it includes oil company taxes that should be remitted to the GRA, Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC yesterday argued that Section 45 of the governing Act has a “supremacy provision” which overrides the taxing statute.
In his December 29th oil and gas column in Stabroek News, Ram noted that in his previous column he had opined that the NRF was overstated by “tens of billions of Guyana dollars”.
He added: “To my horror, my research discovered that the overstatement at 30 June 2023 after the payment of 2022 corporation taxes for the oil companies, was $274.8b. ($274,765m.), representing 76% of the Fund balance at that date. The magnitude and significance of the error is evident from the 2022 financial statements of the Fund, which received a clean, unqualified opinion by the Audit Office of Guyana, showing the value of the Fund at that date of G$298b. With taxes payable amounting to $49.7b for the years 2020 and 2021 to be financed out of Guyana’s share of profit oil, the correct value of the Fund at 31st. December 2022 should have been G$248.4b, the difference representing an overstatement of 20%. A similar overstatement for 2023 alone, amounted to a further G$225.1b., hence the cumulative overstatement of $274.8b”.
