Is G.O.B.’s $30 Million tax assessment of BISL lawful?
The government took control of the Belize International Services Limited (B.I.S.L.) and nationalized the International Business Companies Registry (I.B.C.R.) and the International Merchant Marine Registry of Belize (IMMARBE) on Tuesday, June eleventh. Not only did G.O.B. nationalize the two registries, it slapped the management company, B.I.S.L., with a whopping thirty million dollar tax assessment. After your head stops spinning from the size of that tax assessment, you would be right to ask how a company could allow its taxes to fall so much into arrears. Well, that’s just what we did today. B.I.S.L.’s attorneys say the thirty million dollar tax assessment is entirely bogus because the 1993 Master Agreement at clause twelve exempts it from all government taxes, fees and other assessments. B.I.S.L. attorneys say that even if G.O.B. was entitled to collect taxes, under section thirty-nine of the Income and Business Tax Act, G.O.B. can only go back six years to 2007. G.O.B. is trying to collect taxes over the twenty-two year life of the management agreement. The startling revelation was also made that under the agreement, G.O.B. must indemnify B.I.S.L. for any claims or losses suffered as a result of their management of the registries under the contract. This means G.O.B. would have to pay back B.I.S.L. for any tax arrears assessed against this. They make the point that successive People’s United Party and United Democratic Party Governments have for twenty-two years honored the tax exemption clauses under the 1993 agreement and collected weekly payments from the registrars of these companies without ever raising the issue of taxes. The government now wants the public to believe that it just suddenly realized that taxes should be paid. So why then did G.O.B. make such a clearly bogus tax assessment? News Five understands that this is a ploy that G.O.B. has used before against the Airport Concession Company that sued the government for breach of contract. G.O.B. makes a false tax assessment against a company whose contract it wishes to break or which it wishes to nationalize. It changed the law to force such companies to pay first and appeal later. G.O.B. would then refuse to pay any damages for breach of contract by arguing that such damages are set-off by the bogus taxes owed.
Great another Nationalization!!
Mr.Barrow you cant suck and blow at the same time.
How do you expect to attract foreign investment to this country when you spend the countries money nationalizing everything??
Foreign investment is running for cover and not even looking at Belize anymore.
Its just another notch in your belt of destruction.
Go back to first form school and take economics again as obviously you failed that class!!!!!!!
those were some rediculous contract. they should all be tendered and given for 5 year term not eternity and government not able to collect taxes when they make millions and keeps it offshore. then again belizean looks at the politrics and not the point of contention!!! more than illegal its rediculous!!! anybody that gives such should be jailed cause they definately have sharez in that company or got buttered!!! belize?
You call this the good old switch and bait… isn’t this a b$$ch. GOB needs to create an environment where people can unleash their entrepreneurial skills. Yon can feed a man for the day, but if u teach that man feed himself, then that man would learn to feed himself everyday.
THIS IS A CORRUPT, ABUSIVE AND CRIMINAL GOVERNMENT!!!!! Belize Will Never grow and develop with this group of vindictive bozos running the show. cant wait for the day to come when these low minded incompetent crowd is booted out of belmopan.
@Wayne, my understanding is that t the arrangement was that GOB gets 40 cents of every dollar Imarbe collected. If Immarbe kept 100% and then paid taxes, what’s the difference? Unless taxes would be more than 40% of gross income. Don’t be so easily fooled by his royal highness DeanO, he depends on the gullibility of Belizeans. Meanwhile his family, oops I mean lawyers will laugh all the way to the bank.
All I see in this comments are Belizeans defending the pup law firm by condemning the red law firm..thats all..when as Belizeans wehave to understand that both Belizean law firms aka pup&udp are a bunch of criminals in power.
All I see in this comments are Belizeans defending the pup law firm by condemning the red law firm..thats all..when as Belizeans wehave to understand that both Belizean law firms aka pup&udp are a bunch of criminals in power.