AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Question for Amanda

I would not put any more burden on the locals....they would be "grandfathered".......why not tax ex-pats.....most of them are deriving income from elsewhere but are enjoying the same lifestyle as the locals. The great majority of the ex-pats have an income that greatly exceeds any of the Belizeans. If you are not a citizen you should be paying a lot more for the pleasure of living in a "Paradise" that very few people world-wide can, or ever will experience.

I agree that a permit system will not deter development. On the other hand there may be some that would like to improve their properties and better themselves(especially locals), that would not be able to with fees and permits that are out of their reach.
Tax the property based on assessed value...income should not need to come into play. A combination of realistic fees for permits and property tax...enough to get the job done without being a burden on those that can least afford it.

Ratha, your plan still doesn't work. What of those that have property that has been in the family for a long time, yet they have low income? Or those that acquired property years back when the area was of no interest to anyone but now, is in one of the most desirable areas. Your plan could/would tax those Belizeans out of their ownership.

Loansum, your plan doesn't work very well either, because there are other countries with desirable property for ex-pats and retirees, that have significantly beneficial tax and incentive systems. (see Panama)

Ya...I know seashell...I thought of that afterwards...but I was trying to get away from the complications of tax credits and stuff that is a pain like you and I are accustomed to.

Amanda, you answered my question with some very good points. Especially the one about the need to examine the tax structure which others have made some very valid points.
I have always maintained that the property tax needs to be changed to provide more income for the needs of AC. This is a tax that is far underutilized. Yes, I should be paying way more than I am along with others who have property that is not their primary residence. Homestead Exemption is the term used in other areas to adjust the tax to eliminate an unfair burden on primary residences.

Now back to "sustained development". To me that is a feel good term that works when all factors are in place. The one factor that we keep referring to is infrastructure, or in AC's case the lack of it. In order to sustain development infrastructure must precede the development - not follow it. That is not the case on AC. That is why I take the position that development should be severely curtailed or possibly halted until the problem is solved.
And, looking to the GOB to do this is unrealistic. The country of Belize has many problems and few solutions based on the needs of the country as a whole. AC, looking at the brighter side, has fewer problems and more solutions. If none of the taxes collected from AC by the GOB were returned to AC, there would still not be enough money generated to solve the fiscal needs of the country.
We can talk about the corruption and inefficiency of the past government and hope that the new one will be able to reverse that. If I were a total optimist I would say the chances of that happening - maybe. If I were more of a realist, I would say somewhere between doubtful and impossible.

Back to being an optimist. I do believe that AC can solve its own problems. The wealth is there. AC only has to find a way to tax that wealth in a way that enough of it stays on the island and also enough goes to other parts of Belize less fortunate. But in order to do that, I do believe there needs to be a change of attitude where the people of AC accept the need to contribute more themselves - or if you want another feel good term - invest more themselves in the future of AC as opposed to the mind set that whatever is needed can be payed for by taxing someone else.

Now being the conservative that I am, I must go to confession and repent for suggesting more of the "T" word.

Do you or does anyone have any ideas on HOW to stop the corruption which seems to have become endemic at the highest levels? Although I'm not starry-eyed I don't think this corruption existed in 1981 - it's developed since. Unless some foolproof system can be instituted, such as a more restrictive and enforceable constitution, I fear corruption will always be the principal determinant as it has become. For example, whoever heard of a government official being immune from prosecution (as I understand it, into perpetuity) for criminal acts performed while he's in power?

Just saying to each other that corruption is a bad thing, or trusting newly-elected officials to choose not to dip their hands into the cookie jar when they know full well that their predecessors did it and got away with it, is naive and unproductive.

Oh please Pedro2. Do you live in the same world as the rest of us? Look around at EVERY country in the world - name one that does not have scandals involving corruption. The trick is to learn to live within the system or move to a place where you find the level of corruption to be acceptable.

Okay, that was not a personal attack but rather exasperation at the fact that some people seem to believe that there is no corruption in the "super power" nations.

The difference here in Belize is that even we little people get to see what is going on. In the superpower nations the only folks truly privy to such information are the multi-billion dollar company lobbyists and the politicians that they influence. The watch dog agencies only ever seem to manage (or have time and energy) to disclose the more blatant corruption schemes.

Money and power make the world go round. And although I am absolutely outraged at times when blatant corruption and theft is exposed, I know that I can either buck the system and rally against these corrupt activities and perpetrators or diligently work and make a living so that I can house and my feed my family. I have joined organizations and donate to groups that spend their time and energy lobbying for issues that will make my life more bearable, comfortable, safe and harmonious. When I can, I also donate my time and energy to these causes. We can all do our little bit to assist groups and individuals that work tirelessly to expose scandals and fight against the issues we are also opposed to.

Amanda - I believe that corruption accounts for a far greater proportion of the national GDP of Belize than of any "western" nation. Of course it exists everywhere, but look at the effect it's had on this country.

Charging a developer higher permit fees and requiring them to install infrastructure to their developments will not stop development, but it will make the development more sustainable and less of a burden on the general population.

As many 2nd home owners have pointed out, even though these folks don't live here full time they love their adopted home and enjoy utilizing the infrastructure that is available, and yet their contribution to this infrastructure and maintenance fees are their annual property taxes, which are paltry.

I understand that the town board is taking a good long hard look at the property taxes and will be attempting to assess correctly.

When a condo project is first built the land's property tax might be $200 per year, when the development is finished and the corporate shares or individual condo titles are issued then the property is supposed to be reassessed with property taxes then being levied appropriately on each individual unit. This has not happened in many cases and the developers and/or unit owners enjoy a property tax rate that is easy on their wallets, but does not contribute much to the community.

I am often appalled by the attitude that some people take on when they complain about the roads, garbage pick-up services, street lighting etc. etc. They indignantly profess that they pay their taxes. Yeah, thanks for the $200 Bz per year. You do get what you pay for. That is why in the US and the UK and Canada you see folks paying thousands each year - and they get nice roads, water, sewerage disposal, fire engines, hospitals etc. etc.

This is a small country with an even smaller group of tax payers. Anybody that earns less than $20K Bz per year does not pay income tax, children and pensioners do not pay income tax. So tax paying is left to the rest of the population. I don't have true figures but logic would estimate that there are probably only around 75,000 people/companies contributing income taxes each year.

The people that don't pay income tax still pay taxes, property taxes, stamp duties, gst on goods and services. But the costs due to inflation are going to make the poor even poorer if the rest of us don't start seriously shouldering more of the burden.

So where is the happy medium? The poor really can't afford to pay more, hell they are getting to the point where they can't afford rice and flour!! Those are bare necessities.

But the rest of us (Belizean tax payers) are stretched to the max too.

So yes, like it or not, we are going to have to expect more contributions to infrastructure from our new developers and more property taxes from our vacation home residents.

I don't think we can tax our poor any further, but that doesn't mean that they are helpless. I am often dismayed to see the lack of respect and pride of community that many non-tax paying folks display. Graffiti, vandalism, littering... these are items that every individual has control over. And to see the trash cans being destroyed and not utilized is disheartening. To see areas that were cleaned by regular citizens totally trashed within a week is disgraceful.

Okay, that's enough for one day.

I still love where I live and will continue to strive to fight for survival and improvement of the community amenities for the enjoyment of all.