Sunday, April 4, 2010
The
The Belize Times
1
Belize Times The Truth Shall Make You Free
SUNDAY APRIL 4, 2010
Issue No. 4687
$1.00 www.belizetimes.bz
Barrow’s April Fools Bukut
When you read this article on Wednesday, March 31, you will be only hours away from feeling the first crushing blows of the new taxation regime imposed by Mr. Barrow. Those taxes, calculated to bring in somewhere around $110M in new revenue for GOB’s coffers, will take effect on April 1 – April Fool’s Day. The day of its implementation is fitting, because the Prime Minister is indeed taking Belizeans for fools when he blithely refers to the worst budget Belizeans have even seen as ‘Recovery Today… Prosperity Tomorrow!’ Under this Barrow administration, there is little hope for recovery and the only prosperity being enjoyed is by Mr. Barrow and the
Senators Veto Barrow’s Budget
UDP. As Belizeans head out to celebrate the first day of the Easter Holidays, the price of goods and services will have already gone up. As we go to press, businesses have already started adding a note on invoices stating that as of Thursday, General Sales Tax of 12.5% will be implemented on all goods. Shopkeepers have already started to increase the cost of basic goods on their shelves. Professionals are already preparing to increase the cost of services offered. Barrow claims that his increase in tax will somehow be good for the poor of Belize. But the reality is that the 25% increase in (Continued on page 35)
Scotiabank Jacked
Security Guard Murdered
When 32 year old Stephen Lopez received instructions this morning to report to the Spanish Lookout branch of Scotiabank, he had already sensed that something bad was going to happen. Lopez had worked all night at Belize Natural Energy, where he is normally stationed, but after a foiled robbery
attempt last week at a business in the community, the firm assigned him to the location to cover for another officer who did not show up. So at around 8:30 when five masked armed men entered the bank and ordered everyone on the floor the moment that he (Continued on page 35)
Together we will build back our party, back to the beginning. Sound the call, for I say to you now, throw open the big blue and white doors! Open the windows and let the sun shine in. For it is the dawn of a new day. A PUP for all and a time to sing again “Welcome, Welcome to the Party, PUP fi all ah we.
– John Briceno (March 30, 2008) Exactly two years ago, John Briceno was victorious at a convention held by the People’s United Party in the nation’s capital, Belmopan. He emerged as the new leader of the Party and on that day, March 30, 2008, committed to PUP (Continued on page 35)
Real Unity... Real Change!
Senators Godwin Hulse and Paul Perriot, the business and union representatives in the Senate, joined People’s United Party representatives Eamon Courtenay, Corona Villafranco and Lisa Shoman in voting to reject the General Revenue Appropriations (2010/2011) Bill, 2010 at a today’s meeting of the Senate. All six senators appointed by the ruling UDP and Senator Henry Gordon, who represents the Belize Council of Churches, voted to ensure its passage. In a debate which featured contributions from all twelve senators and lasted six hours, the dissenting senators were spirited but cogent in making their arguments. Senator Godwin Hulse may have jumped the gun in being the first to speak and concentrating on the Income and Business Tax (Amendment) Bill 2010 whose primary objective is to raise that tax from 1.75 to 6.5% on electricity suppliers. In a very precise presentation Hulse, who is a member of the board of directors of Belcogen, Belize’s cogeneration electricity project lambasted
the Government for its utter lack of consultation and said electricity suppliers felt that they were being “unfairly targeted and singled out.” He predicted that the increased tax will cause Belize Electricity Limited to increase rates. In rejecting the Budget the National Trade Union Representative Paul Perriot said it was not consistent with reality, and that he did not believe that anyone would be bold enough to suggest there was anything strategic about the Budget. Not only was it long on rhetoric and short on substance, he opined, but it did not live up to expectations because Belize’s position on the United Nations Human Development Index had declined the past few years from 80th to 93rd. In a surprisingly detailed presentation he not only pointed out the Bill’s shortcomings, but offered some recommendations. PUP senators Eamon Courtenay and Lisa Shoman were blunt in their condemnation of the Bill, with Courtenay (Continued on page 35)
Are YOU Better Off Today?