The topic of property taxes and trade license fees also came up during our interview with the Mayor, and that's when he disclosed that residents and businesses in the city collectively owe City Hall a little over 20 million dollars in arrears.
The City was not pursuing those arrears during the height of the pandemic because they were trying to be a bit more understanding of the financial pains brought on by COVID. Today, the Mayor made it clear that the City now has to take a hard line to recover those back taxes and fees:
Bernard Wagner - Belize City Mayor
"This year has been a great improvement compared to 2020 and 2021. Again, I continue to allude to the fact that the city has 18 to 20 million out there, you know. It's how we at the city attack those revenues that are out there. And so, there are many ways you go after those monies that are out there. So, you can't say the city is short of money. We have $21 million owed to us, so we must use our resources to get those funds into the city."
Reporter
"What specific measures are being taken to collect some of that revenue?"
Bernard Wagner
"We are using our legal recourse, obviously, through the court system and through auctions. You'll see our ramp-up of those in the near future. We have done that prior to the COVID setting in. We had slowed down a bit, given that we knew that people couldn't pay those taxes given COVID, but things are moving back. And so, we have to begin to go back to that stance of using our legal recourse."
Daniel Ortiz
"Do you find residents or persons who owe the city revenues being intransigent, or are they trying to meet the debts?"
Bernard Wagner
"It's a mixture. People have it hard. A lot of our residents find it very hard to pay those taxes. What we are doing as well is, we are compiling a list to see what kind of break we could give to some of the elderly, those living at the margins. We have to get that through the local government, obviously. But it's changing and shifting the culture of complying with paying taxes. If you own a property, you have to pay the tax. During COVID, we understand you couldn't pay, but now you're back. Employment is up. We have to get back to paying our taxes."
Reporter
"Has the pandemic, in your view, sort of exacerbated that culture, that culture of not wanting to pay, that unwillingness to pay?"
Bernard Wagner
"It did for a short while. But with our pressing via the legal arm, we see where people are now taking us seriously and are beginning to come in and pay."
