Tax Amnesty Businesses Face October 31 Compliance Deadline

Business owners approved under the tax amnesty programme have until the end of this month to come into full compliance with the Belize Tax Service.  Director General Michelle Longsworth says seven hundred and thirty-one businesspersons were approved to join the programme. Under this arrangement, qualifying businesses are offered a one-year exemption from business tax, starting from the date their amnesty certificate was issued, along with waivers of accrued business tax penalties and interest.  Its broader aim was to help businesses enter the formal economy and improve their access to financing, technical assistance and opportunities to grow.  Longsworth explained that they now have until October 31 to complete the compliance requirements.

Michelle Longsworth, BTS Director General: “The most recent program that we had was the one for the MSMEs. That was in collaboration with Beltraide and the IPCU, Ministry of Investment. Actually, that program ends right here next week, the 31st. So it began last year and it ends next week. We actually just had a meeting because we were reviewing yesterday and we were looking because remember under that amnesty program the encouragement there was for MSMEs to bring them into the formal sector giving them the opportunity to register, file only, no payment if they were registered before and were non-compliant we waived all the penalty and interest that they had. We were not taxing them. During that period, 731 taxpayers received that amnesty approval so they came into the formal sector. The data that we shared yesterday showed that 88% of that 731 have been compliant with their filing obligations. And we see that as a considerable success because that is a good trend for small and micro taxpayers. They have been showing that we can do if we are supported properly. So they got their education from us, from BTS, from Beltraidel, we were pushing that out and they were being compliant. For the 70 or so who were non-compliant, we discussed what actions we would take because a part of that amnesty program was that if you were not compliant you would lose that amnesty and all the taxes that were due for that period would now become due. So we’re looking at those 70 taxpayers who were non-compliant during that period. We still believe that we would give them an opportunity by reaching out to them to understand what their challenges were.”

Government announced the Fiscal Incentive MSME Business Tax Amnesty Programme in September last year to help micro, small and medium enterprises formalise their operations. The initiative brought together the Office of the Prime Minister’s Investment Policy and Compliance Unit, the Belize Tax Service, BELTRAIDE and the Economic Development Council.