The push to transform the Belize Tax Service into a Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authority is being sold as a move toward greater efficiency, but not everyone’s convinced. Director General Michelle Longsworth says the change will improve how revenue is collected. But PSU President Dean Flowers isn’t buying it. He says there’s been no proof, no draft legislation, no organogram, and no clear plan showing how this shift will actually make things better. Flowers also revealed that the transition would nearly double the department’s staff, from 236 to 400. So, what’s really driving this change? Here’s how he breaks it down.
Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union
“And an increase of forty percent in staff will now require a larger space, so you will probably need more buildings, especially in the districts, more computers, more desks, more vehicles, so the icre4ase in cost can be substantial. But these people are unable to say how they will transform SARA into a higher revenue generating department, how will they improve their current revenue collection efficiency and reduce current administrative staff. these people are shooting in the dark, they don’t know what they are doing and I challenge them to present an organogram of how the SARA looks like. I challenge them to present to you a five-year projection of how the current tax service department will increase its collection by fifty percent to sustain this new increase in cost.”
