Delinquent taxpayers continue to delay payment of millions in refunds – GRA

[www.inewsguyana.com] – The Guyana Revenue Authority has noted that gross negligence on the part of a large number of taxpayers (employers and employees) to submit accurate tax returns to the GRA continues to stymie the processing and payment of refunds.

Commissioner General, Khurshid Sattaur in a press statement noted that a large sum in the tune of hundreds of millions was allocated for the payment of refunds after authorization was given to prioritise the processing of refunds to Pay As You Earn (PAYE) taxpayers for the period, Year of Assessment, 2007-2012 and subsequently 2013.

However, he said the GRA has been unable to process refunds as numerous employers either have failed to submit Forms 2 information or have not provided sufficient or accurate information, deeming employees ineligible for refund payment.

“Where amounts stated as PAYE deducted on the Employer’s Return (Forms 2) did not match the taxpayer’s declaration on their return, the refund could not be processed, Sattaur said. To date, approximately 15,820 refunds have been processed.

Based on data analysis regarding the Years of Assessment 2007 to 2013, over 81,000 taxpayers with refunds had no Forms 2 information submitted by their employers.

Additionally, the analysis also revealed that for the period 2007 to 2013, there were over 6,308 taxpayers whose declarations showed that they were in a refund position of $1000 and over with a cumulative value of over $146M. However, based on verification, these persons were not eligible for refund payment.

In a majority of cases Forms 2 (Employers’ Returns) were either never submitted or were submitted, but flagged at the stage of lodgment for not corresponding with the Return of the employee among other anomalies. For Years of Assessment 2007 to 2013, approximately 14,800 Forms 2 were outstanding.

Meanwhile there are approximately 2131 submissions for the Years of Assessment 2007 to 2013 that remain in the lodgment state pending further processing.

The Commissioner-General continues to implore, taxpayers, particularly employers to honour their statutory obligations to file their Forms II and/or remit PAYE in a timely manner.