Welcome back, team! Today we are playing on our home court. We are talking about the Guyanese Economy and the engine that drives it: The Guyana Stock Exchange.Hi everyone! I am Aoede. I want to introduce you to the giant companies right here in our backyard that you can actually own a piece of.Hello! I am Leda. I will walk you through the paperwork and the specific rules of how our local market works.And I am Charon! I am going to break down the specific Capital Gains Tax rules—the rates, the exemptions, and the math you need to know.First, let us look at the big picture. You hear it on the news every night: Guyana is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. That is a huge title! But what does it mean for you? It is measured by something called G D P, or Gross Domestic Product. That is the value of all the goods and services produced in our country. Since we found oil offshore, our G D P has skyrocketed. It is like our team suddenly got a star player.But we cannot just rely on oil. That is what economists call “Dutch Disease,” where you focus only on one thing and let everything else rot. We have to keep our traditional players strong too. Our rice farmers in Essequibo, our sugar workers in Berbice, our gold miners in the interior, and our bauxite workers in Linden. A healthy economy is a balanced team. When you invest in the local stock market, you are betting that this whole team is going to win the championship.So, let us talk about the arena. In Guyana, our stock market is officially called the Guyana Stock Exchange, or the G S E. You might also hear people talk about G A S C I. That stands for the Guyana Association of Securities Companies and Intermediaries. Think of G A S C I as the organizers who run the stadium, and the G S E as the stadium itself. It is physically located in the Hand-in-Hand building in Georgetown.This is the marketplace where public companies list their shares. Think of a share as a tiny brick in a building. If you buy a share of Banks D I H, you own a tiny piece of that company. If they sell more bread and soft drinks and make a profit, they pay you a dividend. That is your share of the profit! We have some big names on our exchange: D D L, which makes the world famous El Dorado rum; Demerara Bank; Republic Bank; and Sterling Products. Investing locally is cool because you can literally walk past the business you own. You can see the trucks delivering the goods. You know they are real.But here is the catch: The G S E does not work like the stock market in movies. You cannot just tap a button on your phone and buy a stock in one second. It is a bit more… traditional. First, you need a middleman called a Stockbroker. In Guyana, we have four registered brokers, including the Trust Company and Beharry Stockbrokers. To get started, you go to their office with your T I N certificate, I D card, and proof of address. Once you open an account, you place an order.Now, listen closely: Trading on the G S E only happens once a week, usually on Monday afternoons. That is right. It is not every day. So if you put in an order on Tuesday, you have to wait until the next Monday for it to be processed. After the trade is done, you get a physical Share Certificate. It is a legal document with a gold seal. Do not lose it! It proves you are an owner.Now, we need to have a serious talk about Taxes. Many people are confused about this, so let us look at the specific rules for Capital Gains in Guyana. A Capital Gain is the profit you make when you sell an asset for more than you paid for it. The general rule in Guyana is that Capital Gains Tax is charged at a rate of twenty percent on the net chargeable gain.However, the “Time” you hold the asset changes everything.
First: The Short Term Rule. If you buy an asset and sell it within twelve months, any profit you make is NOT considered a capital gain. It is treated as Income. This means it is added to your salary and taxed at your regular Income Tax rate, which could be twenty eight percent or forty percent.
Second: The Standard Rule. If you hold the asset for more than twelve months but less than twenty five years, the profit is subject to the standard Capital Gains Tax of twenty percent.
Third: The Long Term Exemption. If you hold an asset for more than twenty five years, it is completely exempt from Capital Gains Tax. The government rewards you for holding long term.Now, how do you calculate the gain? It is simple math. You take the Disposal Proceeds—that is what you sold it for—and subtract the Cost of Acquisition—that is what you paid for it.
There is one special rule: If you acquired the asset before January first, Two Thousand and Eleven, you do not use the original price. Instead, you use the Market Value as of January first, Two Thousand and Eleven. This helps you avoid paying tax on inflation from decades ago.BUT… and this is the most important “but” for investors… Shares in Public Companies are special. Under the Capital Gains Tax Act, gains from the transfer of shares in public companies—like those listed on the G S E—are EXEMPT from Capital Gains Tax.
So, while the general rule for land or private business shares is twenty percent, for G S E stocks, it is generally zero percent. This is a massive shield for your wealth.That is a huge advantage! And what about losses? Investing always has risks. If I buy a stock and the price goes down, and I sell it for a loss, what happens?
The law allows you to carry forward your Net Capital Losses. This means if you lose money on a sale this year, you can use that loss to lower your taxes on gains in future years. And you can carry this forward indefinitely—it does not expire.And finally, let us talk about the cash payments: Dividends. When a local company on the stock exchange makes a profit and shares it with you, that money is yours to keep. Dividends earned from the local stock exchange are Tax Free for residents. You do not have to pay income tax on them. This makes the G S E one of the most tax efficient places to put your money in Guyana.Let us recap the winning strategy.
One. Understand the general rule: twenty percent tax on gains held over twelve months.
Two. Celebrate the exception: G S E public stocks are exempt from this tax.
Three. Hold for the long term. Remember, assets held over twenty five years are tax free anyway.
Four. Use your losses. If you have a bad year, use it to offset a good year later.The Guyana Stock Exchange is a powerful tool. It gives you tax free growth, tax free dividends, and a stake in our booming economy.So check out the G A S C I website!Find a broker and open your account!Thanks for watching, learners. See you on the trading floor!
