And while the budget dominated the news, on any other day the biggest news coming out of today’s House sitting would have been the Supreme Court Judicature Amendment Bill. Sounds obscure, but it’s the biggest matter on government’s plate right now. You’ll recall that last week, BTL went to court citing the existing legislation to argue that it did not have to pay its business tax first and argue later. Well, this new legislation passed through all three readings today will make sure that the phone company has to do just that. Prime Minister Barrow explained.
Hon. Dean Barrow,
“This Bill has to do, let me say it plainly, with the ongoing struggle of the government to collect the business tax from Telemedia. On the last occasion when the Magistrate ordered Telemedia to pay, Telemedia filed an appeal and took the view that the filing of the appeal suspended the Magistrate’s order for them to pay.
Now the argument is that when the Magistrate does that, his order is then caught by the Supreme Court Adjudicature Act which says in the normal course decisions of a Magistrate that are appealed are suspended until the appeal is heard. Well we are not prepared to countenance even a possible conflict between the Supreme Court Adjudicature Act and the Income and Business Tax Act.
We feel that the whole scheme and philosophy between the Business and Income Tax Act is what should prevail. As that Act says, you can challenge all you want but in the mean time you must pay. You can’t have the taxpayers keeping the government at bay. And so what we are seeking to do today is amend the Supreme Court Adjudicature Act to make it absolutely clear that any order of the Magistrate obliging a tax payer to pay the tax assessed shall not be suspended upon that tax payer appealing that decision of the Magistrate.”
Jules Vasquez,
Will you be vote in support right now of this Supreme Court Judicature Bill which allow the government to collect those taxes that Belize Bank owes?
Hon. John Briceno, Leader of the Opposition
“You want me to tell you before I tell the House?”
Jules Vasquez,
I know that your close advisor and your dear friend Eamon Courtenay and your national campaign manager is the attorney for the Belize Bank in this matter, will that influence your vote?
Hon. John Briceno,
“Well I think that the national campaign manager has been very clear that he maintains that what he does in his private practice is separate from the work he does and the commitment he has to the People’s United Party and he has never let that interfere one way or the other. But on this amendment, of course we support the whole idea of what the Prime Minister is doing to ensure you collect your income taxes and the business tax. It is something that we should support the government in that. The concern though is that the amendments that they have, it goes from trade license to property tax, to land tax – to everything.”
And while it is not retroactive, with senate approval it should soon be active and may apply to a case that went to Magistrate’s Court today. Shortly before 12:00 noon, BTL Attorneys, Eamon Courtenay and Elson Kaseke appeared in front of Revenue Magistrate Ed P. Usher for more BTL tax arrears owing to the government of Belize. The amount due for the month of April 2008 amounts to $2.4 million. No payments have been made but Magistrate Usher ordered that BTL must pay $1.2 million by July 21 and the balance a week after that.
