City Hall will be exploring the introduction of by-laws to deal with delinquent taxpayers and sanctions being explored range from shutting down of businesses to the auctioning of properties.
This is according to Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine, who told the media on Wednesday that the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) continues to be cash strapped as a result of taxpayers refusing to pay taxes despite the amnesty policy that it had introduced for delinquent taxpayers.
He pointed out that the amnesty initiative is still ongoing but more needs to be done by City Hall to obtain the monies owed.
“There are people who owe taxes way 20 and 23 years back, millions of dollars, there are people who owe the city in total of eight point something billion dollars. You know if we get that money we can transform the city…I am not bashing anyone. It is that we have to work together and if we don’t work together we will continue to blame city hall but don’t blame city hall you have to blame yourself as well,” Narine said.
He further explained that City Hall will have to commence utilising the law and formulate a policy or by-law that will cater for matters involving delinquent taxpayers from all categories.
The Mayor noted that although there is the option to move to the courts, it will prove to be too time-consuming and costly so other alternatives will have to be implemented.
“I believe it is wasting of time when you have to pay a lawyer, maybe a sum of money, and you go to the court and you have to enter into agreement and the agreement break, and it is something a long process. And the only way I can see a way forward on that without the court’s involvement is to shut the businesses them down, don’t open at all, and even the residents, we have to start put some place on auctions and so forth. But bear in mind these things cannot happen overnight.”
According to Narine, such initiatives can only be implemented once there is a proper system put in place by the M&CC and this will have to be through the introduction of a by-law in this regard.
“We are elected Directors and Councillors of the city and we have to start making those moves.”
Narine added that although City Hall is willing to work with the public, the delinquent taxpayers must understand the situation they have put City Hall in, and, therefore, to avoid having their businesses shut down or their properties auctioned off, they need to pay their taxes urgently.
In December last, the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the M&CC had recommended, among other things, that the Council review its tax collection method to garner monies to help offset expenses the Council is currently facing.
In the report prepared by retired Justice Cecil Kennard, the city is encouraged to review tax collection methods such as the granting of amnesty to defaulting ratepayers.
In fact, the report said that granting of amnesty opens the floodgates for corruption.
“This CoI is of the view that little or nothing is being done to reduce the prevalence of defaulting ratepayers. It is my respectful opinion that the officers were not honest, they tried to cover up for each other, and this type of behaviour begs the question of what is happening. Is it incompetence? Is it corruption or is it a combination of both?” the Chairman had stated in the report.
The Commission of Inquiry into the affairs of the M&CC was to examine, advise and report on irregularities of the administration, its operations, and the management of its financial affairs.
