GST takes Belize Times to court

The Opposition’s mouthpiece, the Belize Times, was called to court this morning for non-payment of GST for the months of January and February 2014. The matter first came up on Wednesday, but could not proceed since the name on the charge sheet was that of former manager, Marion Marsden, who was not present in court. This morning, Marsden’s name was still on the charge sheet which gave way to objections by Attorney Kareem Musa. GST prosecutor, Jacqueline Meighan, told the court that when they last checked, Marsden’s name was provided as the manager. There were back and forth arguments with attorney Musa pointing out that it is a shame that the GST would use Marsden’s name when she has not been with the newspaper since 2010. Musa also suggested that the GST could have asked one of the directors to appear since they remain the same. Magistrate Dale Cayetano was of the view that the matter was not properly before the court and he refrained from reading the charge to the Editor, Alberto Vellos. The matter was adjourned to give the GST time to properly prepare the charge sheet. Prosecutor Meighan was of the view that any member of staff of the Belize Times could be called and before leaving told the court that an additional charge of five thousand dollars will be levied against the Belize Times for failure to inform that Marsden was no longer the manager.