The Giftland Group has informed the public that the High Court has ruled that it owes no taxes to the Mayor & City Council (M&CC) even as it lamented the damage done to its reputation by such claims made by Georgetown Mayor, Ubraj Narine on several occasions.
According to the Council’s report, the Giftland Mall, located on a portion of Block XXX, Turkeyen, was allegedly in arrears, with $49.5M due in taxes pre-2020 and another $11.4M in demand for 2020. The alleged interest as at November 25, 2020, was $53.8M, bringing the overall total claimed to be owed to $114.7M.
However, Giftland’s owner and chairman, Roy Beepat had maintained: “Giftland pays its taxes; Giftland has always paid its taxes; Giftland has never shy away from paying its taxes.”
In a press statement on Thursday, the Giftland Group informed the public that the long contentious tax issue with the M&CC has finally been resolved.
“Chief Justice, Madame Roxanne George, has ruled on all points in this case and have found in our favor, that the Mayor & City Council have acted illegally in the matter against the Giftland Mall, and that at this period no taxes are owing by Giftland Mall to the city,” the statement read.
“Giftland and Mr. Roy Beepat have been fully vindicated against the damage which has been done by the terrible slander vocalized by the Mayor and his cohorts and we have stood up against the most vile and offensive attacks on our reputation. The public can now judge for themselves the untruths and misinformation spread by the Mayor, for someone with a supposedly spiritual background, should have known that the truth would have eventually surface and his lies & deception would eventually see the light of day. Finally, he has been exposed for the charlatan that he is.”
Furthermore, the Giftland Group thanked those who supported its position throughout, including its lawyer, Senior Counsel Timothy Jonas. The Group said that Jonas brilliantly fought against the M&CC lawyers and Attorney General (AG) Chambers to win the case.
Moving forward, Giftland has extended an “olive branch” to the Mayor and City Council towards maintaining a fruitful relationship when it comes to the payment of taxes.
