Fiscal Incentives Act amendment to address larger investments

By Aaron Humes: The Government seeks to amend the Fiscal Incentives Act to address larger investments in Belize – in this case, exemption on import duties for foreign managers and foreign skilled workers employed by a person with an investment of US$250 million and above.

The amendment is a direct response to the fiasco surrounding the ‘Definitive Agreement’ signed with Portico Enterprises Limited in the waning time of the Barrow administration, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance John Briceño explained: “From time to time we have these huge investments in this country, and because of the size of the investment we tend to give them other incentives that we do not usually give to the lesser – in size – investments. To avoid all of this – to ensure that everything can be done aboveboard, to avoid these Definitive Agreements, to avoid passing laws for special investments, our government decided to set a minimum amount of investment that is needed to be able to get other incentives than the rest of the regular investments that they do in Belize.”

Investors should be able to rest easy that their projects will not be targeted politically and treated transparently, said the Prime Minister.

Customs duties and General Sales Tax (GST) will be exempted for goods and services for the project’s construction and establishment – taxes will resume once the business starts operating. Also, foreign skilled workers and managers would receive six months duty exemption for bringing in furniture and equipment during their relocation to Belize. Projects affected will include the potential cruise ports in the Belize District – Stake Bank and Portico – as well as the Caye Chapel Four Seasons project.

Briceno noted that while Belize has maintained historically low unemployment – three percent as measured in the recent Labour Force Survey –the Government continues its drive to provide full employment for women and young people.

While the Government does its best to encourage home-grown investment, it also welcomes Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as a source of economic growth, it is necessary to have a “healthy, enabling environment” which includes a series of sound, generous and well-structured schemes for fiscal incentives, and Belize, said the Prime Minister, wants to be an important economic player in our region. Already, Belize has attracted close to a billion dollars in FDI since 2021, up to the first quarter of 2023.

Belize has several sectors in which we can invest, including agriculture, the blue economy, green infrastructure, light manufacturing, services including business process outsourcing, and tourism, which attracts the most FDI because of its geographic and cultural position.

“This bill is good for business, good for investment, and good for Belize,” the Prime Minister concluded.

The bill was passed in all stages.

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