New Electricity Tax Relief Takes Effect 

Cabinet has approved an increase to the GST exemption on residential electricity bills. The move raises the threshold from $100 to $200 per month effective September 1st. 

According to a Cabinet press release, the increase is expected to provide direct relief to more than 91,000 customers, representing 96% of all residential accounts. The $100 threshold had been in place since April 1st, 2017, when it was lowered under the previous United Democratic Party administration.

Prime Minister John Briceño previewed the measure last Tuesday while defending his administration against claims that officials cannot relate to the affordability crisis facing ordinary Belizeans. 

Union Senator Glenfield Dennison argues that officials benefiting from fuel allowances cannot fully grasp what ordinary Belizeans face stretching their salaries. Briceño rejected the criticism directly. 

“Today right now we are going to bring to Cabinet a paper where we want to present to remove the GST on electricity for consumers, I think for up to two hundred dollars,” Briceño had said at the time. “That in itself is going to be positively affecting consumers.”

The GST exemption does not eliminate electricity costs, but it reduces the portion of qualifying residential bills subject to GST.

Cabinet did not disclose how long the exemption will remain in effect