Whopping $20B in evaded taxes in jeopardy
September 12, 2015 By
… as Govt ignores Opposition’s offer to assist in recovery
The David Granger-led Administration is still to respond to the offer made by former President and Leader of the
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo
Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall
Opposition People’s Progressive party/Civic (PPP/C) Bharrat Jagdeo to have former Attorney General Anil Nandlall assist Attorney General Basil Williams in several tax evasion cases that are pending and which, if successful, will rake in some $20 billion to the public coffers.
Jagdeo, during his first meeting with President David Granger and a ministerial delegation from the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition on August 31 at the Ministry of the Presidency, had offered to have the former Attorney General lend his institutional memory, to assist in the process.
During the meeting with current Attorney General Basil Williams, the Opposition Leader raised issues about files missing from the Attorney General’s Chambers. “He (Williams) said that he does not have the files and Anil Nandlall – the former Attorney General – has
Attorney General Basil Williams
publicly stated more than once that all the files that are necessary for all the cases are in the office or the institutional knowledge is there. He did not take a single document away,” the Opposition Leader declared.
Moreover, Jagdeo outlined that in order to ensure that the State is successful in the pending tax cases so that they can recover in as much as they can, the Opposition is willing to have Nandlall lend his “institutional memory” to the AG Williams.
“We will share all of the institutional memory that we have about those tax cases because we don’t the Government to lose those tax cases based on bad legal representation because it will cause the treasury billions of dollars and us as tax payers – people of this country. We want to share things with them, we want to work with them on this,” he outlined.
Jagdeo said that he informed those present at the meeting that there are billions of dollars in liabilities to the State tied up in just a few cases in court. He further disclosed that there are about 10 such cases he is knowledgeable about, with a whopping $20 billion outstanding in taxes that can be put into the treasury and directed toward developing the country.
According to the Opposition Leader, this move is reflective of the PPP/C’s approach in dealing with the APNU/AFC Administration. He pointed out that they will not be seeking to block everything or anything that comes on the agenda because they were brought by the Government.
“We will take a different approach from the one that they took when they had control of the Parliament. They sought to block everything – the Money Laundering Bill, the Amaila (Falls Hydro Project), (Specialty) Hospital or the Airport Project,” he said.
Jagdeo pointed out that the PPP/C Opposition will be supporting things that are national and will seek to benefit the people of Guyana. “We hold them (coalition) to the promises that they made to the population and we will vigorously oppose things that we thing are bad for Guyana,” he added.
One observer pointed out that it is not fair that hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens with meagre incomes above the threshold level have to pay their taxes when these evidently giant corporations are allowed to evade such gargantuan amounts of taxes. (alexisr@guyanatimesgy.com)
The incompetent PNC should seek every assistance they are offered. BJ is behaving like a true patriot, a concept alien to the PNC dead-enders.
