Income And Business Tax Amendment Bill Makes Further Progress In Belize

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

15 December 2008

The House of Representatives in Belize has approved a number of amendments to the Income and Business Tax Amendment Bill, which will affect the way in which the country's real estate, banking, and telecommunications sectors are taxed.

According to the government, the amended bill will:

  • Retain the rate of business tax for all non-commission earning categories of the real estate industry at 15%;
  • Fix the 'real' business tax rate for commission earning real estate businesses, including real estate developers, condominium owners, long time lease timeshare operators and share transfer sales at 1.75% (the government had initially proposed to set this tax at 2.5%);
  • Increase the tax for public investment companies in the banking sector to 12% from 8%; and
  • Raise the rate of business tax on companies in the telecommunications sector to 24.5% from 19%.

The bill was approved in both its second and third readings in the House, but must be ratified by the Senate before it can be signed into law by the Governor General.

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