The 14 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on all education services has been scrapped, Finance Minister Winston Jordan announced. He said, in the 2018 Budget Speech, that the decision was taken “in view of the representations” made to have the tax removed. Jordan said government would lose GY$342 million now that the tax has been abolished. At the same time, ...

Teachers working in far-flung areas of Guyana will get an 80 percent increase in remote area incentives aimed at cushioning the impact of high cost of living in those regions, Finance Minister Winston Jordan said. He noted that even if education infrastructure is increased and improved, the bottom-line is ensuring the availability of good teachers is vital. In an effort ...

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) will next year be establishing more outposts to collect more taxes on smuggled fuel, Finance Minister Winston Jordan announced Monday. He said during 2017, an outpost was established at Morawhanna, North West District, resulting in “reduced revenue leakage due to fuel smuggling”. Jordan said during 2018, two more outposts would be established at Mabaruma and ...

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan on Monday signaled that rates and taxes in towns and villages countrywide will possibly increase next year so that councils can get sufficient cash to deliver quality services. He made the announcement in his 2018 National Budget speech, saying that the holding of Local Government Elections periodically was not sufficient. He noted that “outdated land values ...

Sugar production by the ailing state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation is expected to further decline this year, partly due to ongoing industrial unrest, Finance Minister, Winston Jordan announced. Delivering the 2018 National Budget under the theme “The Journey To the Good Life Continues”, he said production of the sweetener is expected to fall to 152,000 tons, a 17.2 percent decline over ...

Guyanese authorities seized a semi-submersible vessel believed to be used in the smuggling of large quantities of South American cocaine to other countries. The Guyana Police Force said a 40-year old Venezuelan man and a 40-year old Guyanese who was conducting welding repairs at the time they were found have been arrested. “The vessel is about 25 meters long ,2.7 ...

Five persons, including several children, were Sunday morning left homeless after a fire widely believed to be of electrical origin destroyed a two-flat house at 31 Gap Road, La Jalousie, West Coast Demerara. The house was owned by Parvati ‘Daro’ Bhagi. Neighbours laid the blame squarely at the feet of the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL), saying that technicians ...

An elderly Canadian man died early Sunday morning when the vehicle he was travelling fell 30 feet down the Manari Bridge in Rupununi, police said. Dead is 87-year old Brandis Kennedy. The driver of the pickup, Anthony Pellew, sustained abrasions and has been admitted to the Lethem Hospital. Police said the accident occurred at about 3:10 AM  Sunday at Manari ...

A taxi driver was shot by carjackers after he was lured by two women to Mocha Road, D’urban Backlands to pick up a man who committed the crimes. Sustaining a gunshot wound to his upper right thigh is 46-year old Phillip King. Police were up to late Saturday night still searching for his silver grey Premio bearing licence number HC ...

A Rose Hall Town businessman was shot and injured by bandits who masked themselves with motorcyclist helmets, sources said. He is 47-year old Bobby Prasad, owner of Bobby’s Boutique. The two perpetrators arrived on a black motorcycle at about 1 PM and ordered the staff to lie on the floor. Two shots were fired in the direction of Prasad who ...