Concerns over Belize’s Economic State

Kim Aikman

Since 2020, Belize’s economy has been in a precarious situation which has been made worse by the pandemic.  According to Aikman, the uncertainty of what is to come is worrying for the Chamber membership so they were eager to hear from the Prime Minister.

Kim Aikman, C.E.O., B.C.C.I.

“We’ve taken some shocks from the pandemic, as you know, we had quite a bit of our foreign earnings from tourism and that was cut to zero, so we need to look in other areas.  So he outlined government’s position and we know in the current climate where we’re having industrial disputes with the government and the joint unions, we need, as a country, to, and I think that was highlighted, to come back to the table and speak with each other so that we can move forward.  Well I think membership on a whole, they are concerned on what’s to come; how are we going to span this great divide: one, with this industrial action and how are we going to stimulate our economy and the policies that will be in place.  For years, the Chamber has been calling for things like a comprehensive tax review to simplify the tax structure, to look at the evaders because if you have a simplified structure it is easier to spot the people who are evading.  We have never walked away from the fact that we know that there are some businesses out there who are not paying their fair share of taxes and we ask that they do or the tax department goes after those businesses.  We would not cover for anybody who is not paying.”