Readers' Response

Dear Editor:
I am troubled by the discussions that resulted from a meeting I attended in the presence of a rather high-level Government dignitary from Guyana. At that meeting I raised the issue of the extraordinary wealth focused in the hands of a small group of individuals and their families. My concern was a genuine one since I was expecting a corresponding boom in tax revenues to the national treasury from these individuals. I suggested that it would not be too difficult to check whether these individuals are paying their fair share of taxes.
Perhaps, you are wondering as to why I became interested in the subject. Earlier, the said dignitary was speaking disparagingly about the foreign remittances that overseas Guyanese were making available to their families back in Guyana. He was further linking this to the lack of industriousness of the local Guyanese. He claimed that many of the employees from his Ministry were graduates from the University of Guyana and that they were doing well and securing excellent financial credits from the lending institutions. This in essence was his explanation for their fancy cars, big houses and other life-style extravagances. I found this explanation to be disrespectful to the people of Guyana, given that it is a well known fact that Guyanese are anything but lazy. However their plight derives from being victims of visionless government that has stifled the economy and job opportunities.
I pointed out that the reason for the foreign remittances was that the foreign Guyanese were filling the gap that the Government has created by not providing job opportunities for the local Guyanese. I further challenged the dignitary to tell us how many job creation projects and other economic developments his Government has created in Berbice, for example, in the past 19 years. The Berbice bridge, which is essentially a private venture, is being paid for by the people through the imposition of unaffordable tolls. The only other major project in Berbice is the sugar factory in Skeldon. This factory was built by the Chinese Government at a substantial cost and is literally a white elephant foisted on the backs of the taxpayers. The Chinese Government is paid and the factory is non-functional.
Coming back to the question of the clique of sudden rich individuals and families (nouveau riche): Where did they amass this wealth from? If it is obtained from legitimate sources then there must be a record of income tax payments. I challenged the dignitary, who has the authority to bring forth policies, to conduct Life Style Financial Audits on these High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI). HNWI is a classification of individuals and their families with high net worth, quoted in terms of the excess of their assets less their debts. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also includes high income individuals in this segment. The OECD cited that these people are of particular interest to Tax Administrators in their home countries and abroad. I would like to make a prediction that these audits, if ever undertaken, will find that either these individuals have not been paying their fair share of taxes or that their sources of income/wealth are illegal, or both. Meanwhile readers are free to speculate on the sources of their wealth.
My interest in this subject stems from my professional background as a Chartered Certified Accountant, a Certified Fraud Examiner and holder of a Masters degree in business administration. Also, I have many years of financial and forensic auditing and taxation experience with the largest Chartered Accountants and Business Consulting firms in Europe, North America and Guyana. However, my main concern is with the obscene inequity that exists between the small filthy rich cabal and the destitute majority of Guyanese.
Finally, I know the reason why the current Government will not take up my challenge. It is not that they are stupid or ignorant of the facts. It is purely to save their own backs. There is no political will to look into this matter because many of those in authority are fearful that they and their families and friends will be the prime auditees. Their compliance behavour in regard to the taxation system is, as a minimum, highly questionable. Their families and friends, both inside and outside of Guyana, will have a great deal of explaining to do when a new, clean AFC (Alliance For Change) government takes office after the November 28th elections.
A word of advice before I close: stop the wrong things you are doing and redeem yourself; do not leave an indelible stain on your future generations. You will becalled to account.
Tameshwar N. Lilmohan, Toronto, Canada