Activist group against GST increase
Moses Sulph
The Barrow bond and budget debate gets underway in the House of Representatives this Thursday morning. Sparks flew between the current and former prime ministers during the presentation a week ago when Prime Minister Dean Barrow bestowed on former PM, Said Musa, the “J” word taken from Khaled Hosseni’s A Thousand Splendid Suns. While the gallery will have to wait to see if Musa will strike back with any novel quotes, COLA, is already chewing away on the Barrow budget. Moses Sulph, COLA’s president, is calling on the Prime Minister to withdraw the portion of the budget that would increase the general sales tax that is bound to cause more trepidation on Belizeans.
Moses Sulph, Cola
“We’re calling on the Prime Minister to not pass the budget on Friday as regards to the GST portion of the budget. We believe that passing that increase in the GST will only contribute to the suffering of the Belizean population especially the poorer class and the middle class. What we are asking them to do is to give us ninety days to consult with the people of Belize and also other social partners, unions, and NGO’s people who can give them avenues in which they can get this additional revenue that they need. We understand they need this additional revenue but we are saying it shouldn’t be taken from consumers and poorer class of Belizean people. There are other places they can get it such as from the oil. I think there is a clause in the contract that gives the prime minister the power every year o renegotiate the Windfall tax. We have no problem with government looking towards increasing tax on beer, on cigarette, on offshore banking. Those sort of things they can get the additional tax that they need to close the gap from these places but not to pass the burden to the poorer class of people in the country. This evening we’re having a rally at the park. It starts at six but it will finish about eight nine. We are asking the Belizean people to come out because it’s only if you come out then we will know that you’re interested in not wanting this tax to be passed and then we can use that as a leverage to show that the people is not in satisfaction with the additional two point five which is twenty-five percent of the GST increase at this time. So it’s six o’clock at the constitution park.”
The rally at news time is underway and Sulph says that it’s not too late to come out and give your support.
I support all movements that fight for the poor people….We need all Belizeans to support this kind of initiatives because we the people have power. Scholars in Public Administration are definitely right when they say that the power distribution in a country is divided into: government, international agencies, the media, and most importantly, the society…Therefore, Belizeans need to be more active in politics. I mean ‘politics’ in terms not only constructively criticizes government but also recommend alternatives to confront the barriers to Belize socioeconomic development.
Nevertheless, we need that government also seek alternatives before making a final decision. And for that, we need well qualified Ministers.
CAN ANYONE PROVIDE ME WITH A CV PROFILE (EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE) OF THE MINISTERS IN BELIZE GOVERNMENT ???
cannot afford another cent of taxation.
i feel taxed already, my pockets are fully empty where it use to be partially empty.
In pricinple I believe that an increase in taxation is not the answer. This is even more so with the weak departments of the enforcement agency. It seems as thought the fellow lacks basic economics since taxing business and offshore institutions that create jobs and attract foreign monies is fundamental to economic growth.
I would ask that the fellow kindly stop passing uninformed statements.