So where will some of those cost-saving dollars go? Well, the PM explained further about the housing assistance. He also added that they will make money available for infrastructure upgrades across the country.And he even instructed the tax department to look into possibly increasing the threshold:
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"We'll also make three million dollars more available for housing assistance through area representatives over the remainder of the fiscal year. The additional housing assistance will be available through the area representatives who hear directly from their constituents who need help to make small repairs to their home, to paint their homeâ€"Christmas is comingâ€"buy the Marley, including the UDP. You all will be getting this money. You will get this money too because we need to help all; we don't look at red or blue or green or whatever color when it comes to helping our citizens. Unlike you on that other side, we think different; we were elected to help the Belizean people."
"So we will give you the money to be able to help, but you have to give account for the money. You can't bad spend it, because if you don't give receipts, we don't give you more money. And that's the rule, and that's a hard rule we stick on, even us on this side of the House. If they do not report, they do not get any more money."
"Government will provide an additional 30 million dollars to municipalities for investment, infrastructure works, and employment across the country. Of this 30 million, we have already been forwarding monies to these cities and towns because we believe, again, the UDP had the opportunity to be able to pave and put drains and culverts in our cities and towns and they refuse to do that. We, with the little that we have, we have been paving streets across this country, improving drains all across this country, including culverts all across this country."
"I wish we could get away and just waive all income taxesâ€"at least that would be my goal, my vision that someday we can do thatâ€"but whenever we do that, if we cut those taxes, we have to find where we will get those revenues to replace that. And a large portion of the taxes we collect are from employees that make between $29,000 and $50,000, so Cabinet has directed the Belize Tax Service to look at that bracket and to see what other cuts we can do. Can we cut it down to 15%? Can we raise the threshold a little bit more? So we asked them to take a look at that and come back to Cabinet with a set of recommendations of what is affordable, because again, we can't be reckless."
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