Belize City Mayor Proposes To Write Off Property Taxes More Than Five Years Old

Bernard Wagner

The Belize City Council is owed over thirty-three million dollars in property taxes.  Of that figure, twelve million dollars are in sheer penalties. A substantial amount has been owed for over five years, and now the Belize City Council is considering a proposal for central government to write off the total that it simply is unable to collect. Today when he appeared on Open Your Eyes, Belize City Mayor, Bernard Wagner explained his rationale behind the proposal for a write-off.

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City

“Ih trouble me a night, you know, because I am seeing that this has been over five years. And so something is wrong there when, someone is not paying for over five years. It either means that the person can’t pay, so it makes no sense that you have on your, your balance sheet, on your asset side, monies that are owed to you that are uncollectible. So I am saying to our local government and our national government to make way, get rid of that 12 million in penalties and interest, you know, it makes no sense I have that on my books. I know I collect it, it’s over five, it’s over five years. So, and then again I say, how about our elderly? How about our retired people? How about the indigent people who just can’t pay? So, we have to look at really reform in the context of how do we address those people that are indigent, the elderly, who can’t pay. Why not look at a system where it’s a flat rate for those indigent people, the elderly in our society, who can’t pay and have a flat rate. Mek we look at we write off a huge amount I believe, the past government wrote off, millions and millions in a, in a land tax. Why can’t we look at, a write off system, for property taxes for the indigent people? Um, for the for the elderly in our society who has served for retired public officers who has retired, they leave money when they get after the retired smile or they just have to only could use repair with the light bill and the utility bill. So these are the type of things we at local government and national government have to look at. It’s no sense having 33 million on my behalf. I said, sir, on my balance sheet, they said, like, I got this, like, I collect this. Um, they went over five years, brother. You’re not collect it.”