For. government it might look like they are losing out on revenue - but what they give up on one tax, they recoup on the other:
Michelle Longsworth, Director General - BTS
"On a regular weekend, we at the Belize Tax Service collect, let's say, 2 to 2.5 million in GST. Now, for these tax free days, which is the 14th and 15th, the 21st and the 22nd, we estimate, or we are projecting, I think it's 2.5, so you're looking at 5 million dollars over these two weekends for people to make use of."
"But at the same time, we are putting about 12.5% in people's pocket. So we know this is a high season for spending, so people will have more money to spend at the end of the day. So it's kind of a balancing off because the more people spend, the more we have the ability to collect back."
"Whilst we'll not be collecting at GST, we do look at the other side as business tax. So there will be an offsetting per se. So it's not a loss, it's incentivizing our people to spend their money at home and invest in our economy."
