Tax Amnesty Program Launched to Support Small Businesses in Belize

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in Belize can now benefit from a Tax Amnesty Program launched by the Office of the Prime Minister. The program provides start-ups operating in Belize with an opportunity to formalize their businesses through the Belize Tax Service. Once registered, businesses will benefit from a one-year exemption from business tax and will not be liable for any accrued penalties or interest related to past tax obligations. To promote the initiative a national roadshow, was today launched to enable businesses to register and access resources in their respective locations. Michelle Longsworth, Director of the Belize Tax Service, highlighted what small businesses can expect.

Michelle Longsworth, Director General, Tax Service: “The Amnesty Certificate grants two important benefits; waiver of penalties and interest, if any exists, for the period 7th March to October 31st. So any taxpayer that was registered during that period is eligible for waiver. Exemption from paying business tax for one full year, starting from the certificate approval date. The certificate will clearly state both the start date and the end date. After the approval, even with the exemption, MSMEs must continue to file their monthly business tax, though no payment will be required. If they are registered for GST, they must continue to file and pay their GST. BTSD will monitor compliance and issue reminders to help businesses stay on track. Finally, we will provide monthly or quarterly compliance report to the IPCU to ensure proper oversight of the program. At the end of 12 months the amnesty flag in our system is lifted and end of amnesty notice will be issued to the business to inform them that their payment obligation for business tax now commenced.”

The amnesty program will assist businesses with their tax status, improve access to financial opportunities, and facilitate their transition to the formal economy. Love News also spoke with Ismael Quiroz, who highlighted the importance of upscaling small businesses.

Ismael Quiroz, Executive Director, Beltraide: “The fact is that there are a lot of businesses operating in the informal sector and so basically what that means is that they’re not registered, especially for a tax identification number or they haven’t registered their business name and so formalization is just a very essential part of growing up, of growing and scaling your business. At the end of the day, it’s also about you protecting yourself, your business name. You don’t necessarily want somebody else to take your business name. So in that example, registering your business name is one of the first steps. There are other aspects of formalization and taxation is a big part of it. Tax is an inevitability and so it’s better to be safe than sorry. It’s better to be ready and so this is an opportunity to really get on track. We want to have the big benefit of not having to pay tax for a whole year be in the hands of everybody. As was said, this is about empowerment. It’s meant to really put especially micro, small and medium enterprises in a good position to be compliant and to be educated.”

A comprehensive list of eligible business types will be provided at the Roadshow which begins onOctober 1 at the Belize City Civic Center, and ends on October 27 at the Belmopan Civic Center.