Taxes Going Up? P.U.P. to Consult Chamber

John Briceño

Opposition Leader John Briceño says he expects that there will be some unpleasant consequences for alleged Government misspending in the forthcoming budget. But as to the specific question of raising taxes, the P.U.P. leader says anything is possible. And in light of the apparent neglect of the social partners, most conspicuously the Belize Chamber of Commerce, the Opposition Leader is planning a meeting on Wednesday to get their views.

John Briceño, Leader of the Opposition

“When it comes to the Prime Minister you can never tell. But remember, the Prime Minister is a lame-duck Prime Minister; all indications are that he will be leaving – [when] is anybody’s guess, but not [too far] into the near distant future. So probably he’s going to leave the mess to [Patrick] Faber to try to clean it up. So if he doesn’t raise the taxes I won’t be surprised, but the day of reckoning will come.”

Reporter

“Do you know whether or not the other social partners have been consulted on this budget?”

John Briceño

“No one, as far as I know, has been consulted. I know the Belize Chamber of Commerce is very upset, because they have not been consulted. I have asked for a meeting with the Chamber and I should be meeting with them on Wednesday, to have a consultation with them, to present them our views so far and then we want to hear from them. So whenever we respond to the Budget, we can have a response that represents not only us per se, the Opposition, but even the productive sector and the private sector.”