Belize Tax Services Names 32 Offenders Owing $16.5 Million

The Belize Tax Services (BTS) is turning up the heat on tax dodgers. Thirty-two businesses and entrepreneurs have officially been called out as the department ramps up efforts to recover nearly $16.5 million in outstanding taxes. The names of these tax offenders were posted on the BTS website, marking them as entities that have persistently ignored all collection attempts. At the top of the list sits the Northern Fishermen Cooperative, with an eye-popping debt of $8.75 million. On the opposite end, Julie’s Corn Tortilla Factory is flagged for just over $6,700 in unpaid taxes. According to BTS Director Michelle Longsworth, this public disclosure came only after repeated efforts to collect were met with silence or resistance. She made it clear, this is just the beginning, and non-compliance will no longer fly under the radar.

Michelle Longsworth, Director General, Tax Service: “Taxes, as you rightly know, fund critical service within our public service. So it is unfair, it places unfair burden on others that actually do pay their taxes. So it’s important that everyone pays their taxes. So this list comprises of individuals and businesses who we, the Belize Tax Service, have attempted to work with, some of whom we’ve even taken to court. Many have failed to engage or try to settle their obligation despite efforts for us to settle amicably. These are not just late filers or non filers. They are willfully non-compliant. So these are persons who we’ve exhausted all our collection efforts.  And now these are the enforcement actions that we’re now taking. All right, so this is the first step of our enforcement action because going further in accordance with the TAPA, when publication has not resulted in compliance, because this is to asking them to please comply with us. We will then move to the next set of legal enforcement measures. That includes issuing of warrants to level goods and assets, placing lien on their property and where applicable we’ll pursue further legal action which can lead to imprisonment. We don’t want to go there. So the TAPA provides for several enforcement action that we can now take and we are now using these measures to get people to comply and pay the taxes that they are supposed to pay.”

According to Longsworth, this public list is just the beginning. She confirmed that additional rounds of disclosures are on the horizon in the coming weeks as the Belize Tax Services continues its push to recover long-overdue payments. Longsworth emphasized that the businesses named have had ample time and opportunity to settle their debts but have shown no willingness to cooperate. After months and in some cases, years of stalled outreach, BTS is now taking a firmer, more transparent stance.

Michelle Longsworth, Director General, Tax Service: “What we do, as I said earlier, we try to reach out to these persons. We try to encourage them to come in and  make a payment arrangement, try to work with the department. We are willing to work with them in whichever way they can pay their taxes off. Some of them have come in, they  made payment arrangements but then they default without telling us. And then when you try to reach them, you get no response. So there are others that we are presently in the, if you want to say the discussion stage of how they, how they are able to pay their taxes. And so if they don’t commit to anything or they make a commitment and default, then this process will also follow.”
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In a social media post, one business on the list, Gwen’s Kitchen have expressed its intention to seek legal recourse against the BTS.  The post states, quote, “Please note that the image that is painted by the Belize Tax Services is far from the truth and the reality of what we endure under this oppressive tax system. Please also note we are not a business evading taxes, we are a victim of an oppressive tax system designed to destroy small businesses like Gwen’s.”  End of quote.  Of the 32 businesses listed, 26 are operating in Belize City while the remaining six are from the Toledo and Orange Walk Districts, as well as Placencia.