Belize Tax Service Insists B.T.L. Owes Millions in Taxes

The Belize Tax Service is holding on to its position that Belize Telemedia Limited owes millions of dollars in taxes to the Government of Belize. The Department initiated an audit of B.T.L.’s account last year and reviewed a trove of documents that showed that B.T.L. owed up to twenty-nine point three million dollars for the period 2012 to 2017.The  Chairman of the Board at Belize Telemedia Limited and its C.E.O. have firmly denied that the company owes any taxes. Both parties are interpreting the GST Act differently which prompted the Belize Tax Service and B.T.L. to obtain legal advice on the matter. Depending on that legal advice,   it will be determined if court action will be taken against B.T.L. Financial Secretary Joseph Waight explains. 

On the Phone: Joseph Waight, Financial Secretary

“The audit has not been yet finalized. Where we are is this. They decided that both parties will seek legal parties on the matter. Therefore B.T.L. is seeking its legal advice and we are seeking our legal interpretation so we went to our lawyers. We expect to get responses and based on that we find where we are going. Whether the interpretation that is to whether there are taxes owed are or not, how the interpretation of the GST Act especially when it comes intra- within company transactions. What happened is that the auditors went in and are seeing it one way. Of course the company is seeing it a different ways so we both decided let’s get some legal advice to see whose interpretation is correct. Well if we diverge then there is another step. I can’t say we are going to court but let’s hope that both legal share the same view but we don’t know. It is a little early yet because we haven’t seen it yet.”