So the budget was passed last Friday and when Belizeans return from the Easter weekend holiday, the new taxes will go into effect. What everyone needs to understand is that even with the new taxes, Belmopan is dealing with an estimated budget shortfall of about $80 million and it could get higher. This could mean that if the budget isn't realigned as the economy shrinks or grows, government can be out of cash by November, maybe earlier.
Since the Prime Minister already passed the banking bills to increase Treasury bills and Treasury notes, it is likely that he will look to this to finance the gap. The other alternative would be even more unpopular than the banking bills. It would also send alarm bells to more than just those in banking and finance. Imagine how much more unpopular this administration would be if it had to make cuts in education, health and other important programs that help the poor? Already Belizeans are angry over the cuts in the budget of National Security.
In his presentation during the debate Minister of Education Patrick Faber said that they cut about 700 scholarships in the past year alone. His reason was that some of these people were in the system for far too long. Belizeans should also expect cuts in other services provided by the government.
Here are suggestions for how we can avoid bringing more pain on the Belizean people:
Revisit the windfall tax threshold. Don't be frightened by BNE, it is not as if they can pack up and go to Costa Rica. If we are asking Belizeans to give more, then ask our biggest corporate citizen to give more as well. Set the windfall at $60 a barrel and to show Belizeans you care, take the earnings from this and use it to give the $300 tuition grant to all high school students. If more is left, then put it towards the NHI Programme so that you can roll out NHI to some of the people in the villages in the north.
Let us pay more for our booze. Neither party wants a fight with the two main rum producers in Belize, but at the same time neither party should appear to be afraid of liquor producers. Increase the price of a quart of locally produced rum by $1 and on all imported liquors by $3. Then use this money to pay for the feeding programmes in our schools and for after school programmes.
When you revise the budget, cut fairly not politically. Education is an investment so we must never cut education, however we can cut substantially from the press office and get rid of the half a million in administrative costs that you will be giving to the Ministry of Tourism. Also reduce the travel budget by $200,000. If the Conference will not be sponsored by the host country then we do not have to go. The CARICOM Secretariat attends most of these conferences anyway, so we can ask them to represent us and forward all the important documents.
Reduce the Government's Fuel Bill – Every morning hundreds of Senior Public Officers commute to Belmopan from Belize City and elsewhere. Enter into a contract with one of the bus companies to provide buses to move senior officers to Belmopan. Keep the government vehicles for movement in and around Belmopan. You can have more than one bus run in the mornings and in the evenings to facilitate movement of people to and from the Capital.
To help public officers and teachers plan for the future, provide them with a tuition credit to attend courses in areas like sustainable development, environmental planning, budget management, leadership and other career enhancement initiative.
If there is one thing about tough times, it is that they don't differentiate PUP from UDP. When haad times come they hit everyone, except of course for the few that profit from their proximity to the political leadership. But save and except these precious few, this "tax wap" is going to hurt all of us. Let us try and weather the storm together.
| | | | | |
Source: The Belize Times
0 comments:
Post a Comment