The Belize Chamber of Commerce today condemned government's decision to pay $2.2 million in stamp duty to the privately owned Belize Companies Registry Limited.
The Chamber's statement points to the tax burden that its private sector members have been asked to bear in sharply increased business taxes that were imposed in April. But now the Chamber's complaint is that while the businesses have been doing their part by paying those higher taxes, government has been giving away taxpayer's dollars to the private registry while passing up revenue at the same time. By the Chamber's calculation, the loss on the recent BTL share acquisition was $4 million: $2.25 million in forsaken revenue, and $1.775 million in money that goes straight into the private registry's bank account.
The Chamber's statement calls this a flagrant display of bad faith, and proof that government is not committed to the equitable and impartial distribution of the tax burden. Strong words...but, we should note that at this point, government, seems, to have insulated itself from the frequent criticisms of the Chamber.
