PM Briceño Hails “No GST Weekend” as a Win-Win for Belizeans and Tax Authorities

Prime Minister John Briceño has described the recently introduced “No GST Weekend” as a success on multiple fronts. He said that this had economic benefits for Belizean shoppers and its unexpected advantages for the Belize Tax Service Department (BTSD).

Briceño said that while the initiative was primarily intended to offer financial relief to Belizeans during the holiday season, it also exposed irregularities in how some businesses report their GST collections.

“I think that this free GST weekend has had some other unexpected, I’m trying to find the right word, win for the Belize Tax Department,” Briceño explained. “It allowed them to see who are the ones that are questionable, what is it that they’re doing with their reporting of the GST. I know some stores they closed down, they didn’t want to participate, and you need to ask why. Or some of them coming up with some sort of excuse, or it’s already in the price, but yet they do not discount it in the invoices.”

The Prime Minister said the observations made during the weekend have prompted the BTSD to plan follow-up actions. “So what that has done is that has alerted the BTAs that we need to go and visit these businesses to see how they’re managing their operations. Probably do some audits to see if they are, what they’re collecting is being reported back, if they’re collecting it the right way. Not that we see them doing anything wrong, but it makes us question,” he said.

Beyond tax compliance, Briceño stressed the positive impact of the initiative on Belizean consumers. “Our citizens were excited because they felt like they were getting a discount,” he said. “That extra money gave them more spending power, allowing them to have a better Christmas.”

Briceño acknowledged that some hiccups occurred, but he expressed confidence that subsequent GST-free weekends would run more smoothly. He hinted that the initiative could become a recurring feature of the holiday season.