Tag: 2025-07-31

The Belize Tax Service is responding to recent criticisms made over its move to become a Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authority, better known as SARA. The transition will occur in December, that means current employees will either be reassigned within the public sector or have to apply for a spot in the new system. Now, while the Tax Service says its staff will get first priority, the Public Service Union isn’t convinced. PSU President Dean Flowers is questioning the move, asking what happens to pensions, gratuities, and allowances that workers have earned over the years. We put those concerns directly to Tax Service Director  Michelle Longsworth.

On the Phone: Michelle Longsworth, Director, Belize Tax Service

“As public officers. if you resign from the public service right now, you know what your entitlements are. If you have served ten years, you are entitled to a gratuity. If you have served. fifteen years and more, you are entitled to a gratuity and a pension that remains intact. Nobody will lose if they choose to go over to the SARA, that will be paid to them. That is not taking over service. Okay? If you choose to take early retirement. Even now. Presently, if you choose to take early retirement, you receive all your benefits. If you’re over fifty years, that does not change. And every staff member that our public officers, they know how we are governed under the public service regulations and that does not change.”

Britney Gordon

“While they will be able to retain those after. They have resigned and are moving into their new position. What happens to the people that were almost there and they are basically starting from scratch to build up their benefits again. Do they get any sort of compensation?”

On the Phone: Michelle Longsworth

”So that is a discussion that we are having with the Ministry of Finance, and you are speaking to only persons who have, let’s say five years to nine years and eleven months, those persons who have almost reached ten years. Okay. And those are the persons we have a list of them. We have determined what it would cost to maybe offer them a compensation package, but that is in discussions with the Ministry of Finance. And once we have some approval or we will then take that to the staff who are in that category because there’s only a small amount in that category.”

Come December, the Belize Tax Service is expected to grow by about forty percent in staff, as it transitions into the new Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authority. But with more people on the payroll, naturally, questions are popping up: How will this expansion be funded? And will it really deliver better results? Director Michelle Longsworth says yes. She believes the new system will streamline operations and boost performance across the board. But it’s not just about efficiency, there are also concerns about transparency. Some are worried that SARA could open the door to shady spending through government-awarded contracts. Longsworth is challenging that narrative. She says all revenue collected will still go straight into the Consolidated Revenue Fund, meaning SARA won’t have the power to spend taxpayers’ money. And just to be clear, she adds, SARA won’t be a private company. It’ll remain under public scrutiny, just like any other government body.

On the Phone: Michelle Longsworth, Director General, Belize Tax Service Department

“I tend to disagree with that. When you, in any organization, in any business, when you plan, you have to plan for a future. You have to be prepared for the future. Having a new organizational structure or a governance structure, we have to take into consideration things that presently as a department we do not have in place, and we have to ensure that it is in place so that we can properly govern. It does not necessarily mean that immediately on the transition, you’ll hire all these extra people. Does not necessarily mean that. It means that you are preparing for future changes in your tax landscape. The tax administration has to remain agile, and if we are not, if we only prepare for next year. Some change happens the year after and we have to go back to planning then it can be said, we did not plan properly, so we have to prepare un plan projecting on how the tax landscape is evolving. That is a responsible way to move forward. If you look at any business, even government as a whole, you have to plan for these things. And if you don’t plan, then you plan to fail. I don’t know with regards to the contracts that are there, I cannot speak to that, but I don’t understand how, in terms of, SARA, you’re talking about contracts, which contracts to whom? The SARA will still be responsible to the Ministry of Finance, all the revenue that. We are collecting now, and we will be collecting under the SARA, will remain in the consolidated fund. That does not change. We will have no jurisdiction to spend taxpayers’ money. It goes and it remains in the consolidated revenue fund.”