NTUCB Wants 25% Tax Removed From Retirees’ Severance Pay

The National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) is asking the government to remove the 25% income tax deduction on workers’ severance pay. NTUCB’s president Ella Waight told News 5 that the umbrella union formally wrote to the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance John Briceno on Friday. 

Waight says the deduction does not apply to everyone, with some entities benefiting from tax exemptions. The union wants the same treatment extended across the board, including to workers who leave employment because of disability, retrenchment or redundancy.

“We’re trying to ensure that it is equitable, it is across the board, the treatment,” Waight said.

She argued that the deduction comes at a difficult time for retirees, who move from earning a full-time salary to relying on their severance payment and Social Security pension. Some, she stated, qualify only for a Social Security grant.

“Persons who retire need to live in dignity,” Waight said. 

The NTUCB is now calling on the Ministry of Finance to review its proposal and reconsider the tax treatment of severance payments for retiring workers.