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[belizeculture]

Activist group against GST increase

The Barrow bond and budget debate gets underway in the House of Representatives this Thursday morning. Sparks flew between the current and former prime
ministers during the presentation a week ago when Prime Minister Dean Barrow bestowed on former PM, Said Musa, the “J” word taken from Khaled Hosseni’s A
Thousand Splendid Suns. While the gallery will have to wait to see if Musa will strike back with any novel quotes, COLA, is already chewing away on the Barrow Bondage budget. Moses Sulph, COLA’s president, is calling on the Prime Minister to withdraw the portion of the budget that would increase the general sales tax that is bound to cause more trepidation on Belizeans.

Moses Sulph, Cola

“We’re calling on the Prime Minister to not pass the budget on Friday as regards to the GST portion of the budget. We believe that passing that increase in the
GST will only contribute to the suffering of the Belizean population especially the poorer class and the middle class. What we are asking them to do is to give us ninety days to consult with the people of Belize and also other social partners, unions, and NGO’s people who can give them avenues in which they can
get this additional revenue that they need. We understand they need this dditional revenue but we are saying it shouldn’t be taken from consumers and
poorer class of Belizean people.

There are other places they can get it such as from the oil. I think there is a clause in the contract that gives the prime
minister the power every year o renegotiate the Windfall tax. We have no problem with government looking towards increasing tax on beer, on cigarette, on
offshore banking. Those sort of things they can get the additional tax that they need to close the gap from these places but not to pass the burden to the poorer class of people in the country. This evening we’re having a rally at the park. t starts at six but it will finish about eight nine. We are asking the Belizean people to come out because it’s only if you come out then we will know that you’re interested in not wanting this tax to be passed and then we can use that as a leverage to show that the people is not in satisfaction with the additional to point five which is twenty-five percent of the GST increase at this time. So it’s six o’clock at the constitution park.”