Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo lashed out at the Georgetown City Council today over a decision by the Council to apply the lower “institutional” tax rate to political parties, instead of the commercial tax rate.

At a press conference this afternoon, Mr. Jagdeo said the move seems to have been orchestrated for political reasons, although his party also stands to benefit from the lower tax rate.

Jagdeo claimed that his party’s Councillors have rejected the move, but City Mayor Alfred Mentore has since indicated that the issue was before a number of Committees and the full Council, and the PPP Councillors were part of all discussions over the past several months

Still, Mr. Jagdeo said he has been taken aback by the decision.

“So, we dug a bit deeper and it seems as though there is a specific reason for this proposal. Congress Place owes $6.7B, and a demand notice was sent to them for this money. So how do you get your rates and taxes for $6.7B. Clearly, they have not been paying for a very long time and therefore the interest has accrued and therefore they now have to pay this huge sum of money,” Jagdeo said.

PNC Officials have reported that the party has not received any such demand notice and a senior City Council official has indicated that no such notice has been sent out, since there is a verification process that would have to be completed first before any such notice is issued.

But taking aim at the City Council, Jagdeo said he finds it strange that a Council that is always talking about generating revenue, would decrease rather than increase the tax rate for political parties.

“So clearly this proposal is to deprive the citizens of Georgetown and the Mayor and Town Council of taxes that are due to them from the People’s National Congress,” the Vice President said.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall also commented on the issue, describing the move as vulgar and shameless.

“The Georgetown City Council cannot afford to even pick up the garbage of the citizens of Georgetown without subvention from the government. They can’t repair City Hall—their home without a subvention from the government. They can’t discharge most of their responsibility without the government because their claim is they do not have revenue,” Nandlall said.

City Officials have said that the political parties are clearly not commercial entities and that is the reason behind the decision to have the parties placed in the same grouping like social groups and educational institutions.

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