Belize’s biggest brewery, Bowen and Bowen, has expressed disappointment with the Government of Belize for granting a permit to another private company to import ten thousand cases of Corona beer from Mexico. And while the PM says it’s to meet growing demands, B&B says they do not have a shortage of beers. Today the company’s Corporate Relations Manager, Rosanna Villanueva, spoke with us on the matter.
On the phone: Rosanna Villanueva, Corporate Relations Manager, Bowen & Bowen Ltd.
“It came to our attention recently as well, and I mean, I can’t express how deeply disappointed we are at what seems to be some sort of shift in policy, Marion. For us at Bowen and Bowen. it seems to us that there’s no effort being made to protect Belizean industry with a move like this. We – you know, if you try to cross the border to Mexico with even one case of beers, you’ll have to pour it out. And the reason for that is that the Mexican government is protecting its industries. So, for us, it just seems as though there’s the lack of, of that passion to protect Belizean industry as well. As well, we’ve heard one of the rationales for this is something about supplying the tourist industry, which that makes no – there’s no logic in that, because if someone comes to Belize to visit Belize, they want to drink a Belizean beer, they’re not going to want to drink a Mexican beer. So, that doesn’t make any sense to us. It’s just very disappointing that something like this has even been considered, or, you know, seems to be happening at this point. There’s no shortage. A couple months ago, we did have production issues, which, you know, we were very open with the media. We shared that with the media what we were dealing with, but our supply has stabilized. We have all our beers being produced in the market. So there’s no shortage as such right now. If it’s a matter of variety, Bowen and Bowen produces a wide range of beer brands. We also import some beers from CARICOM. So it’s not a matter of lacking variety or anything in the country. But yes, we are supplying the country. Our beers are being produced, so there is no shortage.”
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.”
On Wednesday, Business Senator, Kevin Herrera said that the shortage of labour that B.P.O. companies are currently experiencing suggests that the Prime Minister’s comments on unemployment are indeed so. The PM, using figures published by the Statistical Institute of Belize earlier this year, stated that unemployment was down to three percent. Today, the President of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who is the general manager of a B.P.O., also agreed that the numbers must be reflective of a low unemployment rate. She added that it’s good when an industry has grown to a point where there is need for further development, such is the case with the B.P.O. sector. Meighan is of the view that there is now need for some intervention by the Ministry of Education to take the training of B.P.O. agents and employees one step further.
Katherine Meighan
Katherine Meighan, President, B.C.C.I
“The B.P.O. sector has been an amazing contributor towards the Belizean economy. Part of that is the diversity angle. B.P.O.’s also play a role, just like the tourism industry, agriculture, et cetera, et cetera. I think that B.P.O.’s offer in general for Belizeans across the board, a professional environment, fair wages, and it also offers an opportunity for career growth and development. Now, we are currently seeing that the unemployment rate is low, and of course that connects to the continued growth of this sector, especially this sector that is very much connected to labor because the labor is really the bones, the heart, the assets. And what we are hoping to do, and, what we see as a solution going forward is really trying to collaborate and connect. We have our B.P.O. members that are asking us for support with training and development professional skills. And we also want to collaborate and connect and encourage the government to do the same because one, there’s opportunities from within for movement upwards through professional development, training, et cetera. There are also these opportunities where we can also prepare for the future. So we can work with the Ministry of Education to talk about what is the potential campaigns and what are the opportunities coming into the longer term and how can we connect that to the educational curriculum.”
During his State of the Nation address, Prime Minister John Briceño, said, “Inflation is down, falling from 6.3% in 2022 to 3.8% in 2024.” However, when News 5 asked Belize City residents, we got a different answer. One resident said, “I don’t know where this come down because I see the price of basic things gone up,” and another said, “We deh out ya and we di see the economy, exactly what di happen. Tell and talk the truth to the people mek the people know because wi do have inflation da Belize and deh have it da America.”
A third city resident we spoke with said, “Cost ah living can’t goh down when every week nearly everything di goh up. Every other two weeks everything di nearly double the price.”
When we asked for his response to the statements of some Belize City residents, PM Briceño told News 5, “I understand what you’re saying. The prices indeed have gone up from 2020, but when you look at the rate of inflation, you compare it to the previous year. Not to 2020. So last year the inflation rate was over 4% and now it’s down to about 3%, but 3% of last year, not of 2020. So yes, the price are still high and we hoping that with time and competition that the prices are going to come down even more.”
As for price gouging, the PM said, “It exists and wherever we find that, we try to act as best as we possibly can.”
The entrance to the Sir Edney Cain Building in Belmopan was transformed to accommodate Prime Minister John Briceno’s State of the Nation address this morning. His twenty-minute speech was briefly interrupted by the rain; nonetheless, PM Briceño touched on every sector, from business to education, health, infrastructure, job creation and even sports. He made a couple announcements that were met with mixed reactions, including an amendment to the income tax regime. The event saw the attendance of elected representatives, government officials, diplomats and primary school students. News Five’s Paul Lopez was there. He filed the following report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
A tent was pitched in front of the Sir Edney Cain Building. A podium was placed at the entrance and bleachers were erected for primary school students to take their seats behind the head of government. All twenty-seven elected PUP area representatives sat in front of the podium cheering on Prime Minister John Briceño, as he delivered his State of the Nation address.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I am happy to report that the State of the Nation is stronger, more hopeful and more confident than at any time in our forty-three years.”
It’s a presentation that is traditionally reserved for Independence Day. This year, however, the Briceño administration decided to forego the annual tradition to avoid the political mudslinging that often plays out in front of the diplomatic corp.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Because Belizeans are working, and Belizeans are winning. For the first time ever, ninety-seven of every one hundred Belizeans who wants a job have found one. The SIB reports that the unemployment rate stood at three percent since April of this year. Never before has jobs been so available and never before has the minimum wage been so high.”
Prime Minister Briceño says the nation’s gross domestic product has grown by thirty-four percent since 2020, with 2023’s GDP now surpassing six billion dollars. He says it’s the highest level in the country’s history.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“To further support small business, small farmers, even new homeowners, Government is making access to finance more affordable. And, as we ring in the New Year, Government will pass legislation so that all mortgages, assignments and cancellations of mortgages for less than one hundred thousand dollars will be exempt from stamp duty. This exemption will surely assist lending institutions to compete for your business and bring down interest rates.”
Perhaps the biggest revelation made by Prime Minister Briceño during his speech was the announcement of a new income tax regime.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Effective January first, in support of employees, Cabinet has approved that all workers who earn less than twenty-nine thousand dollars will be exempt from income tax. By increasing, and additional two thousand eight hundred and fifty-one workers will no longer be subject to income tax. The income laws will also be adjusted to remove existing anomalies so that in no instance will an employed person take home less pay when his/her salary increases. This amendment will benefit no less than seven hundred and thirty-three employed persons. Altogether, by these income tax deduction adjustments, over three point three million dollars more will be placed directly into the pockets of over three thousand, five hundred employees, an average of almost one thousand dollars increase in net take home pay.”
PM Briceño went on to say that with the expansion of NHI two hundred and sixteen thousand Belizeans have access to virtually free primary health care. Approximately one hundred thousand students are in the classroom at all levels of academia. Twenty thousand Belizeans have become first time landowners, and four hundred and fifty million dollars have been invested in total capital public investments.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“The only gain that matters are better life for the Belizean people. That our people are healthier that our children are assured a seat in the classroom, gaining useful knowledge with ready access to digital resources, that we are a society of landowners and homeowners and a widening middle class, and that our farmers and visitors have safe and efficient access to every corner of the country. This is the kind of progress that ignites a virtuous circle of sustainable and equitable prosperity.”
And, as a small drizzle quickly became a heavy downpour, the school children cleared the bleachers. Prime Minister Briceno kept on reading, relying solely on a printed copy of his speech as the teleprompter was drenched. He went on to reaffirm Belize’s support for Palestine and Ukraine and highlighted Belize’s trailblazing efforts in conservation, especially marine conservation.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“And so, judged by how we have improved ourselves and how we have enhanced our standing in the global stage, Belize can mark this forty-third birthday with confidence and pride. Momentum is on our side. The work continues. After four years of impressive achievements our promises shine with the aura of destiny. Together with the blessings of our creator we shall continue to reach higher heights and move ever forward. Que Vivia Belice.”
If you were listening keenly, the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation address is similar to the speech that would be given during the Independence Day ceremony in Belmopan. Well, that was intentional. Prime Minister Briceño and the Leader of the Opposition have agreed to give what would traditionally be their Independence Day addresses ahead of the actual day. PM Briceño explained that they are trying to avoid the political mudslinging that plays out at the official ceremony.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Under the Musa government, he use to do the state of report to the nation as to where we are. But it stopped with the previous government. But now that we have recontinued that tradition, it is unfortunate what is happening with the leader of the opposition. He is going and saying some most outrageous stuff and it is an embarrassment to all of us, not only to himself, not only to his party but to the entire country. I remember many ambassadors, they are afraid to say anything, but usually when we are talking on a side they would tell us, what is wrong with this person. So, to avoid that embarrassment with our visitors, we decided it is best to do this today. We consulted with him, and I guess he will probably have a press meeting or briefing with you all, supposedly tomorrow to answer back. But at least it is not on Independence Day. I have always said, Independence Day should be one day that we should set our differences aside. We will always have these differences, be it in politics or relationships. But the twenty-first is one day we should leave all of that politics behind and come to be proud and patriotic Belizeans and look what we have accomplished in those short forty-three years. We are still a baby as a nation, but it was important to take whatever corrective measures where we are going wrong and fix that. That is what we are doing. We want to avoid that travesty. So, on the twenty-first the leader of the opposition will be given an opportunity to give a greeting, a short message for the twenty-first and I will do the same.”
Belizeans complain about the high cost of living daily. In his State of the Nation address today, Prime Minister John Briceño said that inflation is on a decline. The PM quoted a figure of three-point eight percent, down from six-point three percent in 2024. He also said that there is more than eight hundred million dollars in banking liquidity.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Inflation is down, falling from six-point-three percent in 2022 to three-point-eight percent in 2024. Banking sector liquidity is abundant, exceeding eight hundred million dollars. The Belizean dollar is stronger, with over one-point-nine billion dollars in foreign assets, and the public finances have been transformed in just four years, with public debt down to sixty-three percent of GDP from one hundred and thirty percent in 2020, fortified by a primary budget surplus of one percent of GDP.”
While the Prime Minister said that the rate of inflation has gone down by two-point-five percent since 2022, the Belize City residents we spoke with disagree. Today, we took our cameras downtown and asked consumers how they feel about the cost of living. They all believe that inflation is heading in the opposite direction, and that the prices that are going up are on basic grocery items.
Belize City Resident #1
Belize City Resident #1
“I don’t know where this come down because I see the price of basic things gone up. For example, you goh buy sugar, ih gone up and you can’t buy more than five pounds of sugar per person. You go and buy a soft drink, and ih gone up, two-twenty-five now. It was two dollars. The bread, the same thing. Ih used to be two dollars, two-fifty. Now, two-seventy-five, two ninety-five. Tell me where is the cost of living going down.”
Belize City Resident #2
Belize City Resident #2
“We deh out ya and we di see the economy, exactly what di happen. Tell and talk the truth to the people mek the people know because wi do have inflation da Belize and deh have it da America. Once ih affect America ih affect Belize, but dehn di trick the people. Come out and tell the people plain.”
Belize City Resident #3
Belize City Resident #3
“Cost ah living can’t goh down when every week nearly everything di goh up. Every other two weeks everything di nearly double the price. Cost ah living nuh di goh down. I da salesman, I di do business, mammy, I di tell yoh, everything di goh up. I di sell natural juice. Sometimes I got coconut water. Bottle di goh up, even the coconut offa the tree di goh up. From shilling – we used to pay twenty cents fi wa whole coconut to sixty cents today. Fi we coconut gone from two dollars a bottle to two-seventy-five, soh cost ah living could ah neva di goh down. I see everybody di complain and di punish, di tek lick. I goh da market and things soh expensive. Seventy-five cents fi one lee dry up lime. Orange gone from six or seven fi dolla to three fi dolla with the skin pahn it. Soh dehn can’t tell we that cost ah living di goh down.”
Belize City Resident #4
Belize City Resident #4
“I nuh think soh cause everything still expensive.”
Marion Ali
“When last you gone da the market and what you pay more pahn?”
Belize City Resident #4
“Vegetables, all. All vegetables.”
Marion Ali
“Significant increases?”
Belize City Resident #4
“Yes, increase by a lot. Everything increase by a lot. Even when yoh goh da the store. When yoh does pay three twenty-five fi wa can ah baking powder, now da seven change. Like ih double the price.”
Belize City Resident #5
Belize City Resident #5
“Nothing nuh di goh down. Everything goh up because from the time I di sell tamales everything still raise higher than weh yoh think and everybody nuh want pay the price fi the thing dehn cause dehn di goh up higher and higher every day. When yoh buy foil parer ih does cost seven dollars, now ih cost eighteen and thirteen dollars, depends pahn the type or brand ah foil paper yoh di buy cause dehn got different type and different size. Soh every day, life – cost ah living fi my kids dehn – chicken gone up long time. Wi deh da three thirty-five fi a pound a chicken right now. Masa done deh da – wi does deh da what, seventy-five cents. Now masa deh da one twenty-five. When yoh goh buy noodles, simple noodles gone from fifty cents to one-twenty-five, simple noodles. And ih look like ih gwein higher every next day.”
Prime Minister John Briceño also announced a new threshold for income tax exemption. All workers who make less than twenty-nine thousand dollars will be exempted from income tax. The threshold was set at twenty-six thousand dollars under the Barrow Administration. We spoke with PM Briceño after the ceremony. He explained the decision in greater detail.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“When the then prime minister introduced reforms to the then tax regime, I think it was in 20009, I remember taking some time out to show him in the House that what he has done is basically increase the tax on people. He said, the threshold is at twenty-six thousand, five hundred, but once you reach that figure you start to pay tax at twenty thousand. So, you were not really doing much for people. Our plan is to eventually get rid of PAYE. That is our goal. How long it will take us, that is dependent on how fast the economy can grow and how fast revenue can grow, because if we use the tax, we have to get it from somewhere. With growth we hope that we will be able to replace it. This is the first step. We took it up to twenty-nine thousand dollars. Anybody that is earning less than twenty-nine thousand will pay zero tax. And those above twenty thousand will pay. There was also an anomaly, the way the previous government set up the income tax, let’s say you are at a threshold of twenty-nine thousand and you get a raise for let’s say a hundred dollars, twenty-nine thousand, one hundred dollars for year, the tax regime says you jump into another bracket. In many instances the reality is that it eats up the raise that you are getting. That was happening especially in the tourism industry. So, I was told that a lot of people in the tourism industry and other industry were forced to pay that in cash, because the workers were saying, I will not take a pay raise, because I am going to get less money at the end of the day. We made that adjustment so that the tax will never be more than the raise.”
PM Briceño was also asked if the new income tax regime is being used as a political tactic to garner support ahead of the 2025 general elections. And, if less income tax goes to the public’s coffer, what will the government do to replace that lost income? Here is how the prime minister responded to those questions.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“No, absolutely not. We said it from early on, this is something that we want to do. We want to be able to see how we could give relief to the middle class. The middle class are the ones paying these taxes. And so, this is the first stop. Remember, when we got into government we got a bankrupt government. We were borrowing a million dollars a day. There is no way we could afford it. So we have to make sure we can grow the economy. When you see that our economy has gone for less than four billion in 2020 to over six billion dollars now, it shows tremendous growth. Now, we have to ensure we collect the taxes. In doing that, we will be able to give more relief to our citizens. What we did is that we looked at the tax rolls from the Belize Tax Service and they said these are the people that are registered. But I believe that with doing this I think we will be able to capture more people within that amount that they will be able to register and pay as a tax payer.”
Reporter
“The total revenue basket must remain the same. So what increase in revenue collection will there be to offset the lose incurred from the income tax break?”
Prime Minister John Briceño
“As I said earlier, as the economy continuous to grow we expect more taxes. With the growth we are projecting, the first quarters of this year we had a ten percent growth. We believe that will be able to offset those revenues. But you are right, there is no such thing as a free lunch. If we give something we have to get it from somewhere else. So we expect with the growth in the economy we will be able to offset those loses.”
