3 weeks ago, Mayor Bernard Wagner disclosed that City Hall was patiently waiting for Belize City residents and business owners to pay them 4.5 million dollars in back taxes, which are overdue. But, the COVID-induced financial crisis has been particularly harsh on business owners who are struggling to keep their doors opened and their employees paid. So, the Belize City Council has come up with what they hope is an incentive to encourage business owners to make their tax payments a top financial priority.
This morning via a Christmas-eve Facebook post, Mayor Wagner introduced the Trade License Rebate Relief Program. Here's how he explained how it will work:
Bernard Wagner - Mayor, Belize City Council "We have, in the past, evaluated and launched relief programs to assist residents, children, and now we introduce a plan for our entrepreneurs, who we consider the backbone of our economy. After planning and consulting with our trade licensing board, we have submitted our request to the Ministries of Finance and Local Government for approval to launch a first-of-its-kind trade license rebate relief program. Due to the reduction of revenues throughout 2020, this project will seek to offer tax rebates for up to 10% for local businesses, as we re-enter the collection period for trade licenses for 2021. Our methodology entails that businesses are classified into 2 levels, based on their trade fee range, and offers either a 5% or a 10% rebate, depending on the trade fee rate. This program has been approved by Central Government and will to remarkable savings for over 2,000 registered Belize City businesses across all sectors, who are current with their trade tax payments. For the Council and I, this is an opportunity to show that we are also a pro-business municipality, which does not wait for solutions quietly on the side, but which creates solutions for our constituents. Business owners, I encourage you all to take advantage of this offer, and make those payments by December 31st, 2020, so as to qualify for the rebate."
