And the UDP also spoke about the massive hike in trade license fee that the Belmopan CitCo has implemented. Businesses complained of up to a 300% which they could not have prepared for. It's a heavy weight on business owners but according to the former Belmopan mayor - and current UDP caretaker for the constituency - Khalid Belisle, this fee shouldn't even have been implemented since it's yet to be approved by the Senate. Here's how he explained it.
Khalid Belisle, UDP Caretaker, Belmopan
"There has been a bill passed by the House of Representatives, a trade licensing amendment bill and it's been passed in the House but not to my knowledge and understanding ratified by the Senate so that bill has not come into effect for use by municipal council and I believe eventually village councils in the country of Belize."
"In a nutshell, if you are paying $1,000 in 2025 and $1,000 in 2026, when the Senate ratifies this bill for the years of 27, 28, and 29 the maximum you should pay in trade license fee is that $1,000 plus 10%, or $100, so a total of $1,100 for the next three years. What happens after the three years expires? Well that is something the new formula will dictate but at least you would have to prepare for it."
"We are simply asking all councils to ensure that there's consideration, that there's proper advisement ahead of time so that we are not blindsiding our residents and that goes for trade license which is the hot button issue at this time, goes for garbage fees which I have seen pop up on the Facebook discussion over the past couple days and yes property fees."
