Was GST Free Weekend Used to Buy Voters?

It’s still unclear how much revenue the Government of Belize lost during those two GST-free weekends in December. The figures were supposed to be released by now, but Prime Minister Briceño says they’re not ready yet. He was also asked if the initiative was a tactic to win over voters ahead of the general election.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“It has nothing to do with the elections. It is simply something we believed its time had come. We could not have done it earlier because we were trying to recover, rebuild and regain the confidence of our citizens and the private sector. When that idea came up, we said, it is not a bad idea. It is a good idea and to be able to build on it. If it was just for the election, we would not do it this year.”

 

Reporter

“Were you concerned that you could have lost more than you could afford?”

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Not necessarily, because we felt the economic movement or what we could generate, remember in economics there is this thing that with every dollar you spend moves around four to five times. So, the economic generator of that dollar spending in Belize we, we will be able to get it back with taxes in other area.”