Higher taxes bring blood in Belmopan

There had been little doubt before today but this morning Prime Minister Said Musa confirmed the Government’s financial reality for 2005/2006. Among the Musa administration’s plans for an increase in revenue earnings are hikes in business taxes, a five percent increase for banks and financial institutions, a whopping eleven percent rise for real estate sales and on casino earnings respectively, a two percent increase in environmental tax, a hundred percent tax hike on rum, an eight percent rise on tobacco, the excise on soft drink has been doubled and taxes on beer has gone from one dollar and eighty cents to three dollars and sixty cents per gallon. In snap analysis, it is clear that the major burden of the taxes fall on businesses and subsequently, Belizean consumers. That fact is not lost on the majority of Belize’s citizens who will now be forced to pay the price of the Government’s mismanagement of public finances. This truth had been foreshadowed for months, so it was no surprise that this morning the budget’s welcoming committee was as warm as the cold front crossing the country.

Janelle Chanona, Reporting
Budget day in Belmopan found hundreds of angry protestors assembled in front of the House of Representatives. Placards and banners proclaimed their message to Prime Minister Said Musa and his Government.

With a strong police presence on Independence Hill, tensions were running high as Prime Minister Musa made his way into the National Assembly.

Inside was a full house as public galleries overflowed with onlookers and twenty-seven elected representatives awaited the presentation of the budget. But that fact did not stop several people from trying to get into the building. Within seconds, several skirmishes of pushing and shoving between the police and protestors quickly deteriorated to egg throwing and threatened to escalate to physical violence. All the while, the riot squad waits in the wings.

Anxious moments then turn to fear as more than forty members of the riot squad are called in to assist the police cadets on the front line.

Then came this scene between chairman of the United Democratic Party Doug Singh and Assistant Commissioner of Police Crispin Jefferies.

(Scene of Doug Singh being pushed back by police)

The police tightened their grip on the area in an attempt to keep the crowd at bay and removed objects which had suddenly become weapons.

Meanwhile, inside the House, the Leader of the Opposition and the UDP members had walked out on the Prime Minister?s budget speech.

Dean Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
?You notice that in the normal course, there are loud speakers so that people outside who can?t get into the gallery can hear what is happening, they discontinued that. The Opposition is given a copy of the budget speech partway through so that we can follow and check what is being said, that has been discontinued. And the Prime Minister will stand up in the face of all this and say to these people, say to this nation, say to this Opposition that he has to raise taxes. We are not going to participate in that kind of a charade. No new taxes and the Opposition must not be treated with discourtesy.?

With the Leader of the Opposition in the crowd, the police turned their sights on the media.

(Scene of media being pushed back by police)

As our camera made its way towards Barrow, violence erupts between police and demonstrators. In the melee, a woman falls unconscious to the ground and has to be carried to safety. But then UDP area representative Anthony Boots Martinez and Leader of the Opposition Dean Barrow find themselves in harm?s way.

Martinez maintains he was struck by the police officer wearing a blue shirt, which may be why the authorities again turn on the media.

Anthony ?Boots? Martinez, Area Representative of Port Loyola
?This is the environment where we are ready to die for our country and by encouraging the security forces to come out here and even attack elected representatives this is uncalled for. I think that we just start the war.?

Janelle Chanona
?Mr. Barrow, you yourself was hit. Where are we??

Dean Barrow
?Well, I think this is what can be expected when the situation is what it is. I am particularly upset that a member of the riot police hit Boots not for any kind of provocation. We were there talking to people, trying to cool tensions and the member of the riot police unprovoked, just hauled off and as you can see, hit Boots in a fashion that has injured him in a serious way. That is absolutely intolerable. I spoke to the commissioner of police designate and I have said to him that he needs to do something about that particular individual. We know who the individual is. He has been identified.?

Janelle Chanona
?What is the next step Mr. Barrow??

Dean Barrow
?We are trying to collaborate with the social partners because not only are they not being given their raise. The Government is talking about staggering. For example, the increases for public officers in a way that we?ll see nobody get any until December of this year. We will talk to the business people because the increase in business tax is absolutely horrendous; see if together we can collaborate in the kind of action that can shut this country down and say to the Government they cannot get away with this.?

Dean Barrow
?Clearly, it?s as bad as we expected. The amount that they are trying to raise is some sixty odd million dollars and in fact the way in which that money is proposed to be raised means that all of us will suffer. I think that the worst thing of all is that they are not going to succeed. Apart from formal protest, I suspect there is going to be a tax revolt of another fashion. People are not going to pay. They will find ways to–in terms of the business tax in my view–they will find ways to conceal their true revenue because their convinced that what is happening is unjust. So it?s horribly on the face of it and its not going to work.?

Janelle Chanona
?On the face of it, we?ve been informed that some quarters is suggesting that the answer to all our problems, especially the deficit is not new taxes, but better collection of the current taxes we have inline. Are you in agreement with that??

Dean Barrow
?That clearly has to be the starting point. We don?t see that the Government has made any really serious efforts in that direction, but let?s assume for a minute that that would not succeed in entirely closing the financing gap. New monies can only be had from the people of this country if there is some kind of a national consensus. If the attempts to increase taxes were placed in a context of some national development effort that commanded consensus support, perhaps there would be a better chance. What is happening here is that first of all, it is very difficult, if not impossible for people to pay more. Secondly, even if they can pay more, they are not going to pay more because they see what is happening as illegitimate.?

Janelle Chanona
?In the contents of everything happened today inside and outside the House, is this in your estimation the beginning of the end for the PUP Government??

Dean Barrow
?I have no doubt. How soon the end will come I don?t know. But it seems that without a doubt, it does signal the end. I get the sense that the unions are going to take their own forms of action so that it is not just that the official Opposition is disgusted and prepared to take a stand. It seems that there is a growing consensus on the part of all sectors of society that a stand needs to be taken. So, really in my view there is no way the ruling party can come back from this.?

Janelle Chanona
?What about the events of today??

Said Musa
?What about the events of today??

Janelle Chanona
?There was violence out here between protestors and…?

Prime Minister Said Musa
?Well that is most unfortunate.?

As for union representatives, leaders say they are planning to make a formal response to the Government?s proposals.

Anthony Fuentes, President, Belize National Teachers Union
?All the presidents from the unions were present at that press conference and all of us said the same thing and we stand by our word. What happen, we will be meeting shortly and we?ll decide our plan of action.?

Janelle Chanona
?Yesterday you said the demonstration would be the action plan number one. What is number two??

Anthony Fuentes
?Well, I wouldn?t want to say right now what our plan of action is. As I said, we have met before, we are going to finalize our plan of action so that we could execute what we have done.?

Janelle Chanona
?We keep hearing members say they wha shut down. Shut down what??

Anthony Fuentes
?Well, we have different utility companies in our union. But I am saying we haven?t finalised our plans of action yet. We will be meeting shortly and we?ll finalize our plan of action.?

Janelle Chanona
?What are the teachers? raise and the public officers? raise??

Anthony Fuentes
?As, I said, it was a proposal that was given to us by the Government side and yesterday after our press conference we had a meeting with the Belize branch of the Belize National Teachers Union and they unanimously state that they want their eight and five percent and nothing less because we have pointed out to the Government of Belize, we presented recommendations to them as to ways how they could bridge this deficit by taking certain measures into place. The Prime Minister mentioned in his budget speech today that they have heeded some of those recommendations. So if they had taken up some of those recommendations, there is no need for the Government to increase taxes of the poor people of this country. In the words of Tanya Stephens she stated, ?Mr. Prime Minister we are tired of being poor.?