Backbenchers lambaste budget…
They voted against the Government’s budget at Friday’s House Meeting but an early adjournment by the P.M. denied them the right to explain their votes. Today PUP backbenchers Mark Espat and Cordel Hyde got to make up for lost time. At a joint press conference this afternoon in Belize City, the two former Ministers burned some major fire on the budget. For Espat, the act of rebellion was a long time in the making.
Mark Espat, Area Representative, Albert
?I am a member of the PUP, but I cannot support this budget on the following grounds. Firstly, ninety-one million in additional revenue measures will punish the masses of the Belizean people; the working poor and the middle class. These Belizeans, many of whom I am honoured to represent on the Southside of Belize City are least able prepared to pay taxes. The vast majority of these taxes will end up being paid by the consumers. Our people are not receptacles for taxes. Second, the process of consultation with the social partners, the unions, the private sector and also with the people for such a high impact financial adjustment as this budget represents has been far too short. Third, the overall budget targets appear unrealistic at best and at worst proposed to return us to the pre-August pattern of adjusting the figures to suit our targets or as one journalists has put it, ?Of cooking the books?. Fourth, those who can pay and should pay are not being called upon to share the burden of this major adjustment and fifth and final, the reforms of the way that government does business which were to accompany this financial adjustment have been far too slow in coming forward.?
?In short, Madam Speaker this budget suffers from multiple deficits not just a chronic financial deficit, but a democratic deficit, a credibility deficit and an equity deficit. But Madam Speaker, I want to just throw out a few alternatives because we cannot say that this is not the way without offering some alternatives. And the first alternative I would propose is that we have to recognize that if we do the right thing, if we say the right thing, if we are real, then borrowing becomes cheaper. You all know, Madam Speaker, everyone knows that you have to go to the pawn shop or the loan shark or use your credit card if Ms. Jane believes you are not fit to borrow. Let me say what the alternatives are and I don?t mean to unnecessarily single out any particular sector in our economy but we have to be frank. Last year we proposed a land tax and we budgeted twenty million dollars for that land tax. The Prime Minister has said that we should collect it and that those who are due to pay should pay. But yet, we have cut the budget this year, the projected income from the land tax from twenty million dollars to a little under ten million dollars. So you refuse to pay and you get a fifty percent discount. We need to collect the back taxes from the PIC Banks for example who owe a significant amount of money at this time. We need to reduce unnecessary contract officers estimated by the unions to cost over twelve point five million dollars per year. Madam Speaker, we need to reduce certain exemptions on those many companies that have development concessions. I am not saying that we should eliminate incentives, but instead of offering a hundred percent, let us offer fifty percent. Let us reduce the exemptions on the companies that are in export processing zones that are profitable already. Let us tighten the stamp duties. Let us look at the corporate tax on those companies that are generating wealth.?
?Madam Speaker, back in 1998 we charged the excise tax on beer at twelve dollars per gallon and it was to generate twenty-five point three million dollars at the level at twelve dollars per gallon. I say, let?s take it back there because we can choose to drink, but we must eat. And Madam Speaker, let us stop the discretionary exemptions estimated to continue at almost eleven million dollars per year. I am sure that if we did all of these things and if we did them Madam Speaker, with zeal, we would be able to pay the workers their five and eight percent increases.?
?There are those who would say that by opposing this budget, I am abandoning my party. To them I say it is not I that has abandoned my party, but that my party with this budget seems to have left the people.?
