But while the Ministry of Natural Resources wants to collect all those tax dollars, there's one new landowner which they won't be able to collect from for the next 50 years.
Yesterday, the global environmental organization, known as the Nature Conservancy, sent out a press release to alert Belizeans that they have collaborated with more than a dozen other organizations to acquire 236 thousand acres of land in Belize.
This coalition is trying to Preserve the Belize Maya Forest, and that's why these huge tracts of land were purchased.
In their press release, The Nature Conservancy says it is, quote, "more than a dozen organizations coming together to protect 236,000 acres of land that represents an irreplaceable linchpin in the conservation of the largest remaining tropical forests in the Americas, outside the Amazon. This new protected area is contiguous with and nearly doubles the size of the adjacent Rio Bravo Conservation Management Area previously protected through efforts led by The Nature Conservancy. Combined, it represents 9% of the landmass of Belize and secures a vital wildlife corridor in Central America's dwindling forests." End quote.
But, the Minister of Public Service isn't convinced.
This morning, in response to Hugo Patt, the Former UDP Minister of Lands, PUP's Henry Charles said that he signed a bad deal on behalf of the country to forego the collection of taxes on these landholdings:
Hon. Henry Charles - Minister of Public Service
"I hold here, Madam Speaker, an agreement signed between the Government of Belize and the Nature Conservancy. This agreement was signed, Madama Speaker, on the 19th Day of October 2020. I believe parliament was dissolved on the 6th of October 2020. So, this agreement came after parliament was dissolved and just before a general election. And this agreement, Madam Speaker, was signed on behalf of the Government of Belize by the Member for Corozal North, who was then the Minister of Natural Resources. The reason I bring up this agreement - and it's right here - is because incredibly, in this agreement, 260 thousand acres of land was acquired by the Nature Conservancy. In the agreement, the Government of Belize agrees to remit, wave, and exempt the payment of stamp duty on these properties for a term of 50 years. The Government of Belize agrees to remit, wave and exempt the payment of land tax for a term of 50 years. Madam Speaker, how could he be talking about collecting land tax when a few weeks before the election, he was signing these types of agreements? Waving land tax for 50 years, Madam Speaker, for this group. Madam Speaker, to make it worse, the carbon rights for these properties, the government of Belize, signed by the Member for Corozal North, permitted the trustee to retain, exercise, and transfer to them the carbon rights on the trust properties, and the exclusive rights to perfect, market and sell any and all verified carbon credits or offsets. Madam Speaker, couple that with the write-offs in land tax that was done by the previous administration, 90 million last year, so much more before then, couple that now with the waiver of land tax, and we can see that they were not serious about collecting land tax, and that is why we are where we are with a huge bill for the land tax to be collected. Madam Speaker, I don't know if I can use the word 'hypocrisy', but I don't know what else to use when it comes to that type of behavior."
