How Will GOB Balance Void Created by Income Tax Adjustment?

The Prime Minister also had good news for people who earn less than twenty-nine thousand dollars per annum. He said that effective January first, persons who fall in that bracket will no longer pay income tax. But while that is good for those in the working class, how will the government fill the void that is created by that adjustment? That is a question that the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry is also asking.

 

Katherine Meighan, President, B.C.C.I

“That is a question that, of course, all of us are asking. That is a question that the government has to answer. But that’s a question where we are hoping to be able to collaborate with the government on that. Now, we certainly can see the benefits. You know, from our members continuously, when we speak to members, we hear the challenges of where the income tax as it is and at that threshold has not necessarily helped to build productivity from within. So we’re looking forward to that. Now you’re right. There’s the other side of the game and how can we collaborate with the government to ensure that the revenue neutrality angle does not negatively affect another side of the game or that cycle, another piece of the pie, whatever you want to say. And will that negative effect be more dramatic than the, than the positive that comes into it.”