Tax exemption available for old age pensioners using bank systems
Pensioners who use the banking system to collect benefits can apply to GRA for an exemption.
Kaieteur News – Old age pensioners who use the banking system to collect their monthly benefits should be aware that there may be tax deductions when using that system.
Kaieteur News understands that if it fails to apply to the Guyana Finance Authority (GRA) for compliance for a waiver or exemption from those taxes, Withholding Taxes will be deducted from the pensioner’s savings account.
This newspaper was told that, in the absence of the waiver, people with savings accounts at commercial banks were subject to deductions from Withholding Taxes. As such, pensioners are encouraged to apply to GRA for the waiver, where necessary, especially in cases where their annual income does not exceed $ 780,000.
The regulations also emphasize that any such person should approach the GRA for compliance. The information follows an announcement by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security as it introduces a bank payment option for old age pensioners.
According to information posted on the Ministry’s Facebook page, pensioners need to fill out a Bank Application Form providing their name, address, ID or passport number, bank account number and bank name. Pensioners can download this application form, free of charge, from any of the Ministry’s offices and sub-offices nationwide or download it from the Ministry’s website.
The form must be signed and returned to any of the Ministry’s offices. Once the pensioner uses the banking system, the Ministry said the pension book must be surrendered at any of the Ministry’s offices.
The Minister for Human Services, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, has been urging pensioners to use the banking system. During a recent press conference, Minister Persaud announced that the Ministry would promote the use of the banking system as a means of paying out pensioners. Under this system, Dr. Persaud that the payment would be made directly into the pensioner’s bank account between the first day and the fifth day of each month, after which the pensioners can access the funds whenever they wish.
“So this makes it easier for them and we would really like to encourage people with bank accounts to use this service, so again it would reduce the lines we see and the number of people who pressed up to receive their pension, ”the Minister said.
It also addressed the issue of pension collection under the current system. The Minister stressed that it was completely the opposite of the liner in all the pensions paid locations.
“Once the monthly payment starts each day, people can go in and get their payments. Not everyone needs to go on the first day the pension is paid. There is an alphabetical system that they use, so you can go in any day and pick up your pension and I really hope pensioners use this, it really hurts my heart , when I see so many of them out there, He added.