Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 19, 2013 News
…unable to say how much taxpayers owe
City Hall’s tax database system is corrupt and does not reflect the exact amount taxpayers owe. A new programme was bought to fix the system but staffers are reluctant to clear the clutter, says a source close to City Hall.
According to the source, successive City Treasurers have lamented that City Hall’s database needs sanitizing because the accounts are defective. The system currently gives taxpayers the upper hand of challenging how City Hall generates the figures, the source added.
The source related the only way taxpayers stand a chance of paying their “correct” taxes is the presentation of their last receipts.
“The onus is on the taxpayer to prove that he or she doesn’t owe City Hall and not the other way around. And, that shouldn’t be the case. City Hall should have a proper system by now,” he added.
According to the source, City Hall was given computers, new programme, training of staff, and even additional human resources to update the database. Because, some staff want to crook the system the new measures were not implemented.
The source said the Town Clerk and City Treasurer have oversight for the Finance Department and therefore has no excuse. The source said the Town Clerk should answer to the people of Georgetown when her office last prepared a financial statement. In addition, City Hall has not been audited since 1996.
He stressed that Town Clerk, Carol Sooba, is the head of Administration and is expected to make the system work. If, a bad system remains unchanged in her leadership then she is incapable of leading and should be removed, the source lamented.
According to the source, the solution to the cluttered database is simple– City Hall should commence using the new system. All new payments by taxpayers should be inputted into the new system allowing the creation of a new database.
He said that City Hall should commence collecting taxes even if it means losing a little bit of revenue for an accurate system.
The source said that questions should be asked how much money City Hall and the Central Housing and Planning Authority are earning from the erection of high rise structures in Georgetown.
In addition, many houses in Georgetown have been transformed into businesses but with a slothful and almost ineffective re-evaluation system, again the true taxes are not being paid. He said residential properties in Georgetown pay 40 percent taxes whilst companies pay 300 percent.
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