"The customs bite is too big" - that's what car dealers are telling and proving to us with some shocking figures that show kickbacks on imported vehicles which are more than twice the value of what the government gets.
And even though it is a large and systemic revenue loss, the Prime Minister has said he doesn't know about it. Today the leader of the opposition said the silence is deafening from the Ministry of Finance:
Tracy Panton, Leader of the Opposition
"Amazing right? And it has been happening for a while in my understanding. It has now become so burdensome particularly for the car dealers, one of our caretakers from Orange Walk East is a car dealer. And it has become so heavy that there was no other option but to make this issue public. The government continues to tax the Belizean people. It is the Ministry of Finance that is responsible for Customs and revenues generated to the Customs and Excise department but yet we hear nothing. I'm telling you it is amazing to me that the silence is deafening. What I would encourage people to do as this matter, and we will explore the matter a little further and we're doing our own investigation internally, is to insist on a receipt that outlines what you're paying the funds for. Because indeed one such receipt that I saw, government was collecting about $1,700, a little over $1,700 and the local merdida was $4,000. Not acceptable, it's a hustle, it is a big hustle and the Ministry of Finance should have already issued a statement explaining to us how that matter is going to be addressed."
Courtney Menzies:
"What do you make of the Prime Minister who is the Minister of Customs saying that he doesn't know about it?"
Tracy Panton, Leader of the Opposition
"Does he know about anything. He doesn't know about anything, every time you ask the prime minister a difficult question, he's unaware. He's certainly not fit to be the prime minister of Belize. As the prime minister, you should be briefed particularly when it relates to the Minsitry that you are responsible for and in this case it's the Ministry of Finance and the revenue streams that help the government to do its work. But instead at the very highest level, we see hustling going on so what do we expect through the system? My grandmother used to say when a fish stinks, it stinks from its head so corruption in this country has become endemic in every area where people have to access public services in this country."
