Turning to economic news, during the month of June 2019, imports into the country were down to one hundred and sixty-eight million, that is a one point four percent when compared to June 2018. According to the Statistical Institute of Belize, decreased quantities of diesel imports, coupled with reduced purchases in food items resulted in […]
The Complaint Information System, or CMS, is an essential partner in the economic growth and development of Belize. It is a collection agency that was established in 1993 by Maurice Underwood to collect bad debts for Quick Cash Card and JL’s Quick Loan. The system keeps track of complaints that have been lodged by the […]
Founder and owner, Maurice Underwood, says that the idea is to take CMS to the Caribbean by introducing the system to other countries within the region. Maurice Underwood, Owner, CMS “We’re planning, with the Chamber of Commerce, going all through CARICOM within the next five years and this will create jobs. We have some […]
If you don’t have any plans for this weekend, the City Council wants you to check out the downtown super sale. The monthly event, organized by the City Council in conjunction with the business community, will be offering big sales with the chance to stretch your dollars. The super sale kicks off at six on […]
There is another hike in fuel prices that will put a dent in the pockets of consumers. At midnight, the prices for regular gasoline, diesel and kerosene will go up. Regular gasoline will increase by eighteen cents per gallon and will now sell for ten dollars fifty-five cents. Diesel goes up by twelve cents and […]
The National Trade Union Congress of Belize discussed a number of pressing issues this week, from crime to the recent Sanctuary Bay scam. According to President Marvin Mora, the N.T.U.C.B. has concerns about what happened primarily because it has affected jobs in Belize. The Federal Trade Commission Report has named sitting members of government as […]
The third liquidator has been appointed by the Central Bank for Choice Bank Limited. The offshore bank was forced to fold and thrown into receivership in June 2018, after the Central Bank pulled its international banking license. The new liquidator is Kareem Michael and his appointment, which was announced on Friday, became effective on Monday. […]
Sanctuary Bay is quite a beautiful place. Well, this is what the Prime Minister was told and undoubtedly what recidivist scammer Andris Pukke and associates used to convince more than one thousand U.S. investors to depart with their life savings and pump their hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars in the project. As part of […]
In September 2016, the then Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit, Joy Grant, received an email alerting the F.I.U. of an ongoing investigation into massive violations of our Foreign Exchange Regulations by the principals and developers of the S.R.W.R. real estate project. While evidence was collected, the F.I.U. determined that the likelihood of a successful […]
The People’s United Party says that the F.I.U.’s determination to not proceed with criminal charges is bogus. During a press conference last week, P.U.P. Kareem Musa suggested that charges such as obtaining property by deception could have been proceeded with. Prime Minister Dean Barrow disagrees. On the Phone: Prime Minister Dean Barrow “But that […]
The multimillion-dollar Sanctuary Bay real estate scam is the biggest scam that the F.T.C. has investigated. It has certainly scared off future foreign investors and forced Atlantic International Bank Limited to fold. The scam has given Belize an international black eye. In order to prevent such reoccurrence, the PM says that a consumer protection entity […]
Persons carrying out transactions via cheques are paying an additional service charge for its processing. Commercial banks have been laying that cost at the feet of their customers. As we reported two weeks ago, the new fees are linked to the Automated Payment and Securities Settlement System which came into effect on July first. But […]
The Small Business Development Center partnered with the US Embassy Belize to coordinate an entrepreneurship workshop hosted Doctor Philip Harding, Co-Founder of Impact Junkie. Harding is a speaker and former White House Advisor who teaches about social entrepreneurship, startups, business, investment, and development. Through his organization’s work, he empowers entrepreneurs around the world. At today’s event in […]
The Central Bank through the Belize Chamber of Commerce has released a statement on the matter of bank charges for the issuance of cheques which is stirring concerns in the business sector. The new fees are linked to the Automated Payment and Securities Settlement System which came into effect on July first. The Central Bank […]
There are changes in the prices of fuel; there’s a dip, but also an increase. Effective midnight, the pump prices for premium gasoline will go down to ten dollars and sixty-three cents per gallon, while kerosene decreases to seven dollars forty-five cents. But before you have a sigh of relief with the fifty cent decrease, […]
Amidst the leakage of documents showing B.T.L.’s purported multi-million dollars G.S.T. and business tax debt is a letter reportedly sent by Chairman Nestor Vasquez. In that rumored letter, Vasquez reportedly asked the Financial Secretary, Joseph Waight to waive the debt. When asked about it, Waight said that he has not seen the letter. However, there […]
The People’s United Party today mounted pressure on Belize Telemedia Limited, the Department of General Sales Tax and the Prime Minister as it relates to a throve of damning documents leaked to the media a week ago on Wednesday. The documents purport to show that Belize Telemedia Limited, the telecom giant that the Barrow Administration […]
According to the P.U.P.’s Kareem Musa, the government has been silent on the matter because the pile of documents which indicates B.T.L.’s true financial standing, is a huge political blow to the Barrow administration. Musa pointed out that after acquiring the company for more than half a billion dollars, B.T.L. invested tens of millions of […]
Two days after the news broke, C.E.O. Rochus Schreiber handed in his resignation letter and according to B.T.L., Schreiber decided to pursue other personal interests and reunite with his family in the U.K. at the end of September. Notably, his departure also comes days after the Senate passed and ratified the Tax Administration and Procedure […]
The Public Utilities Commission made its Final Decision in respect of the 2019 Annual Review Proceeding for electricity rates and the news is that rates will remain the same at forty one cents per kilowatt hour for July first 2019 to June thirtieth 2020. Despite the high cost of power, Belize Electricity Limited decided not […]
The new S.S.B. contribution and reform scheme came into effect on Monday. The Social Security Board embarked in a two-year consultation process where the private sector, the Opposition, Cabinet, and other stakeholders were brief on why it was important to reform the scheme. The restructuring will be phased out over three years with incremental changes […]
The General Sales Tax Department is conducting an audit of B.T.L.’s accounts. News Five has received voluminous information and documents which show the telecom giant purportedly owing the Government of Belize millions of dollars in G.S.T. Said debt dates back to 2012, which according to the documents obtained show that by the end of 2017 […]
Information to News Five is that B.T.L. Chair Net Vasquez wrote to Financial Secretary asking for a write-off. Joseph Waight says he has not seen a letter. We attempted several times to get in contact with Acting Commissioner of GST, Evan Brown but all our attempts have proved futile. We did manage to ask Cabinet […]
On Wednesday, the Senate passed the Tax Administration and Procedure Bill which ultimately seeks to increase government revenues. The bill merges the Income Tax and General Sales Tax departments. The new law also seeks to strengthen the collection of taxes and enforce penalties for companies and entities which have and continue to evade paying taxes […]
On the economic front, there is positive news coming from the Statistical Institute of Belize in respect of the labour force. Figures show a drop in the unemployment rate from nine point four percent in April 2018 to this year. According to S.I.B., unemployment is at its lowest, with the Belize District showing the highest […]
