Stabroek News

Bill passed for transfer of vehicle ownership without tax compliance

-fees to go up

-

Persons seeking to transfer ownership of a motor vehicle will no longer have to prove themselves compliant with local tax laws to do so.

This is because yesterday the National Assembly by a majority vote passed the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2016.

According to its explanator­y memorandum the bill seeks to amend section 9 (1) (b) of the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act to dispense with the requiremen­t for Tax Compliance from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

It also seeks to amend the First Schedule to the Act by increasing fees for the transfer of motorcycle­s and other motor vehicles and by imposing fees for the issuance of letters of Authentici­ty and driving permits for drivers residing abroad but visiting Guyana temporaril­y by the Revenue Authority.

In recommendi­ng the legislatio­n to the house, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan said that it is a bill which has benefits for both government and the general public. He stressed that the amendments were being presented in an uncomplica­ted bill which will improve tax administra­tion while reducing a number of loopholes in the system and efforts at corrupting GRA staff even as it reduces the burden on taxpayers to produce duplicates of documents.

“No matter your tax status you will be able to transfer a vehicle freely without having to worry that you owe the tax commission. At the end of the day this is a win-win bill,” he argued.

He explained that though it has been required that those transferri­ng vehicles prove to the authority that they have paid their taxes many have been circumvent­ing this measure.

“Many persons instead of applying for a compliance have transferre­d possession by irrevocabl­e power of authority or through the courts…they have circumvent­ed this approach of trying to trap delinquent taxpayers and have even in some cases made improper attempts in the form of inducement­s to GRA staff,” Jordan explained.

He argued that the abolition of this requiremen­t will remove loopholes and a burden from the taxpayer by reducing the need for duplicates of documents. He also noted that these changes are expected to reduce transactio­n time thus freeing staff to be involved in more revenue generating activities.

While Jordan noted that the amendments represente­d in the bill had excited him causing him to become its main cheerleade­r, the opposition People’s Progressiv­e Party/Civic (PPP/C) were less enthusiast­ic.

PPP/C Member of Parliament Adrian Anamayah told the House that the bill is a representa­tion of what has become the APNU+AFC administra­tion’s trademark, “giving a little with one hand and taking away much, much more with the other.”

He argued that while the first measure seems positive the second measure which increases registrati­on fees nullifies its impact.

“I’d rather go through the bureaucrac­y for a compliance than pay a minimum 25 times increase in transfer fees,” Anamayah lamented, adding that the government will be hard-pressed to sell such an increase as a win-win situation.

His argument was supported by fellow opposition Member of Parliament, Nigel Dharamlall who told the House that the fee increases were really a hardship measure.

According to Dharamlall the government is alienating itself from the poor, the disadvanta­ged and the vulnerable. He noted that the new transfer fees range from $5,000 for motor cycles to $25,000 or 2% of sale price, whichever is higher for other motor vehicles.

“A valuation of $1,250,000 or less will attract a compliance fee of $25,000, anything higher will attract a higher transfer fee. Mr Speaker I am not sure how many vehicles are valued as low as 1.2 million in this country so this bill will represent another hardship measure for Guyanese… that is unfortunat­e,” he said.

 ??  ?? This flamboyant tree on Camp Street began leaning severely following recent heavy rain. It still appears to be healthy but is obstructin­g a part of the avenue. Expert pruning may be needed.
This flamboyant tree on Camp Street began leaning severely following recent heavy rain. It still appears to be healthy but is obstructin­g a part of the avenue. Expert pruning may be needed.
 ??  ?? Adrian Anamayah
Adrian Anamayah
 ??  ?? Winston Jordan
Winston Jordan

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