Trade License Fees Wrongly Increased in Belmopan

Some businesses in Belmopan are raising eyebrows tonight after noticing higher trade license fees, even though the government says there shouldn’t have been any increase. Back in December 2025, the Government of Belize announced that the Trade License Act of 2024 would not take effect in 2026 as originally planned, delaying the rollout of a new licensing system for both urban and rural areas. That delay means only town and city businesses should be paying trade license fees this year, with rural businesses remaining exempt. But several Belmopan business owners say their bills went up anyway. Today, we took the concern to Belmopan Area Representative Oscar Mira, who says the increase should not have happened and that he is now working with the city council to fix the issue.

 

Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs

“There should not have been an increase. I think the new regime for trade license did not come into effect as was previously thought that it would have. Trade license for Belmopan should not have changed. And I know that there was some, because I got the complaints as well. But we are working with the Belmopan City Council to ensure that the trade license remains the same because the new regime did not pass in in the Senate and therefore it cannot be implemented. But there was a new, whole new formula that was being formulated. But since it hasn’t been formally adopted, then we are going to remain with the same formula it was before. And the mayor has agreed that those that paid over will be credited to their accounts.”