Plan to Transform Belize Tax Service into Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authority Still On

The Government says plans to transform the Belize Tax Service Department into a Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authority remain firmly on the table, even though the process has taken longer than initially anticipated.  Minister of the Public Service Henry Charles Usher says work is continuing on the legislation needed to establish SARA. At the same time, officials are reviewing how the transition will affect the public officers currently employed by the Tax Department.  Usher says the legislation must be settled before final decisions are made on whether employees will transfer to SARA or be reassigned elsewhere in the public service.

Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Public Service: “I think that some meetings have been held since the last report was made. There’s work on the legislation. I’m not sure when that legislation will be tabled, when it will be looked at, but that is the first step. We have to look at the legislation and then of course we have to look at the transition for those public officers, whether they will stay in the tax service or the new entity, or whether they will go into the wider public service.”

The transition has faced an uphill battle, particularly over the future of approximately two hundred and twenty-six public officers attached to the Tax Department.  The Public Service Union has repeatedly raised concerns about job security, pensions, years of service and the terms under which employees would be transferred to the new authority. The union previously warned that some workers could face demotion or what it described as constructive dismissal if they declined to leave the established public service.  Under the proposed arrangement, employees who join SARA would work under the terms and conditions of the new statutory body. Those who choose to remain public officers would have to be placed elsewhere in the wider government service.  Cabinet first approved the move toward SARA in October 2022 as part of a wider effort to modernize tax administration, improve efficiency and strengthen revenue collection. The transition was once expected to be completed in early 2026, but the outstanding legislation and unresolved personnel matters have pushed the process beyond that timeline./