Today, for the first time, a business mixer that was organized by the Belize City Council for the public and private sector, was held at the Radisson Fort George Hotel in Belize City, and at this gathering the Belize City Mayor made a grand statement, declaring that he will not be increasing any property taxes or trade license fees in 2014.
In attendance at the mixer were members of the Chamber of Commerce, and representatives from the major insurance companies, banks, construction companies and utility companies.
The Mayor said, “One of the things that the City [of Belize] has done is that we have indicated to the Chamber of Commerce that we will put a moratorium…a freeze on all property and trade license increases, so that we will not [increase these taxes] for the period 2014, which the tax year starts on January 1st…the rates will be the same that they were in 2013. We’re working with them to see if we can have a more business friendly tax regime; we have created a task force that has representatives from the City Council with the Chamber of Commerce to look at what tax regimes operate in other municipalities…when we talk about tax regimes, we’re talking about reducing taxes to make sure that it’s very much supportive and stimulating of the private sector.”
According to Mayor Darrell Bradley, the idea for the forum emerged from his efforts to change the municipality to better facilitate business between all the relevant stakeholders. The Mayor said that he wants to assist the private sector to grow the economy, so that there can be additional jobs and economic opportunities in Belize City. Bradley explained that the purpose of the mixer was to get the “movers and shakers” of Belize City in one room, both public and private sector, to network and build relationships because there needs to be more dialogue between the City’s public and private sector.
According to Mayor Bradley, the Belize City Council needs to be very serious in making decisions that will stimulate economic development within the City of Belize.