Bill to increase telephone tax to be introduced Friday

And still on the House, we’ve been reporting that government intends to amend the Business Tax Act and at tomorrow’s meeting the Bill will be presented for its first reading which will raise taxes by more than five percent on telecommunications.

And in an update to that unfolding story, News Five has learnt that four executives of Telemedia met with Prime Minister Dean Barrow yesterday at the Central Bank of Belize. According to a report, the meeting was inconclusive. The Executives wrote to the P.M. on Monday requesting an audience after they learnt on the local media of the plan to increase taxes on revenues of the utility company which would result in government taking up to two-thirds of Telemedia’s profits.

The executives were told by the P.M. that the taxes would be increased from nineteen to twenty-four point five percent and were stunned to learn that while the P.M. says the 2005 Accommodation Agreement with Telemedia is not valid, he is demanding payments associated with the same Agreement. Double talk – seems so.