PM Says Opposition Leader is ‘Living in his own World’  

On Tuesday, Prime Minister John Briceño addressed the country in his annual State of the Nation speech. In his presentation, the PM highlighted the growth of Belize’s gross domestic product and made the announcement that Belizeans earning under twenty-nine thousand dollars per annum will no longer pay income tax. On Wednesday, Leader of the Opposition, Moses “Shyne” Barrow delivered his response. Barrow countered by noting several businesses that have failed to keep their doors open in recent years, as well as the rate of income tax paid by civilians in comparison to corporations. We asked the Prime Minister for a response to these claims. Here’s what he had to say.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I would just smile and leave him as it is. I think he lives in his own world and his best, it takes two to tango, but it’s best to leave him there by himself. I think people have seen the work. People are feeling the work that the tremendous work that our government has been doing. More people are working, less people are in poverty. With the changes of the income tax regime, we’re allowing even more people to go into the middle class. The increase of the of the minimum wage to go to five dollars, that in itself. Like you said a tide rises our ship, so raising up to five, the people that were working at five, their salaries have gone up. It has had a a chain, not a ripple, but a chain effect because, it’s spreading off.  We are living in a much better place than we were in November of 2020.”