The appropriate response to irrefutable evidence of tax fraud is prosecution, not public persecution
Apr 11, 2025
Dear Editor,
Reports in the media indicate that the Attorney General has asserted that the law grants the GRA “post-audit” powers of re-assessing taxes. If indeed such powers exist under the law, there should be little trouble in clearly identifying and enumerating them. Vague references to legal authority are not convincing unless clearly spelt out as being rooted in statute, not inferred or assumed.
The GRA has also reportedly claimed it possesses “irrefutable” evidence of understated values. If that is the case, there can be little justification for engaging in dramatic displays such as seizing vehicles without simultaneously pursuing charges for tax evasion. The appropriate response to irrefutable evidence of tax fraud is prosecution, not public persecution. But then again, prosecution would demand that the burden of proof be shifted to the GRA to establish fraud.
The move to seize property when the matter is sub judice- including whether the reassessment is fictitious, arbitrary or capricious- smacks of intimidation. It gives the appearance that the seizure was designed more to create a public spectacle than to advance a lawful case. If the evidence is indeed as conclusive as claimed, then let the court decide.
Sincerely,
Rupnauth Hardyal
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