Moya: B.T.B. months in arrears with head tax money
The division in the Belize City Council is glaring with the embattled Mayor Zenaida Moya fighting to survive a tough challenge coming from her Deputy Anthony Michael. Today the Mayor is back in the news, but this time it’s about the tourism head tax. The fee was agreed to by the Belize Tourism Board and the City Council and should yield the City Council one dollar for every person visiting Belize, monies that CitCo says it needs for upkeep of the City. But today Mayor Zenaida Moya sounded the alarm when she said that for several months the Council has not gotten support from the B.T.B.
Zenaida Moya, Belize City Mayor
“We have not received head tax owing from B.T.B. since March of this year.”
Marion Ali
“Did they provide any explanation as to why this is?”
Zenaida Moya
“Well, at one point they had indicated that they did not have any funds, that there was cash flow problems. So that’s the reason why they could not provide it.”
Marion Ali
“How much does it usually amount to per month?”
Zenaida Moya
“Depends on what month it is because if it’s the high season it could go as high as a hundred and odd thousand; low season it could go as low as maybe thirty,, forty thousand.”
Marion Ali
“Is this the low season?”
Zenaida Moya
“This is the low season. I’ve been here trying to call and call to ensure that we get funds from B.T.B.; the funds that are outstanding. Every time I’m here I try to speak to the minister, I try to speak to the C.E.O., the director, even councilor Esquivel and to no avail. They’re having problems with the cash flow situation.”
Late this evening News Five spoke with Director of the B.T.B., Tracey Taegar, who said that they had indeed stopped payment in March because there was a problem with the reports the Council provided of how the monies were being spent. However, Panton said that the problem has since been sorted out with the Ministry of Local Government and they have re-started payments. Because the B.T.B. is now in arrears with their payments, Panton said they have been making an effort to pay every week.
