Government says the proposed Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authority would modernize Belize’s tax system and give employees more flexibility to meet the demands of a changing economy. But the plan is meeting growing resistance from public officers, and attorney Darrel Bradley is questioning whether government needs to create another statutory body to get the job done. So, is SARA a necessary reform or an unnecessary shake-up? News Five’s Shane Williams reports.
Shane Williams, Reporting
Public officers walked off the job on Wednesday to support tax employees fighting the proposed Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authority, or SARA. The Public Service Union warns that workers could lose important protections under the proposed transformation. But Belize Tax Services Director Michelle Longsworth says the reform would strengthen the workforce, equip tax officers with new skills and help them meet the changing demands of modern tax administration.
Michelle Longsworth
Michelle Longsworth, Director, Belize Tax Services
“SARA is looking at the workforce that will support all the reform initiatives that we’ve undertaken over the past seven years, because that’s how long we’ve been modernizing the tax administration. So when you look at the different areas of specialization, and let me be clear here, specialization is not about our audit section or large taxpayer section. It’s about the new way the tax landscape is evolving, whether it is data analytics, whether it’s forensic auditing, whether it’s risk-based auditing, whether it’s international cooperation, because we have a lot of international obligations that we have to ensure that we meet. We need to ensure that our staff continues to evolve, and also that we have the opportunity to ensure that they have opportunities within the organization to grow.”
But if BTS is already modernizing, can’t those changes be achieved without creating a new authority?
Michelle Longsworth
“I would not want to answer that from that angle. I am saying that given the opportunity for us to have more autonomy in our workforce management, it provides need for better efficiency that we must provide as we continue to evolve in a digital economy.”
Attorney and constitutional law lecturer Darrel Bradley opposes the proposed change. He is not disputing the need for efficiency. His question is whether government has demonstrated that creating a semi-autonomous authority is the answer.
Darrell Bradley
Darrell Bradley, Attorney
“If there are inefficiencies in the public service, the solution is not to create a statutory body. The solution is to fix the issues that we have in the public service, to make it more merit-based, to make it more transparent, to hold people to high standards of professionalism and integrity, to ensure that we are able to keep our public purse accountable and transparent, and to generate the kinds of tax revenues fairly that we need to run the business of government. It’s not to create a statutory body.”
Bradley says the government must explain why SARA is necessary and why simpler policy or administrative changes cannot fix the problems.
Darrell Bradley
“Government does not belong to politicians. Government belongs to the people, and the unions are a key stakeholder in any decision-making process. We should not have a situation where that idea comes up and there is a reaction from the union. The initial idea should come up as a result of partnership and collaboration so that who is arguing for the creation of a statutory body to control our tax revenues? Where is the statistic that shows that that is a better outcome?”
All sides agree that reform is needed. The fight is over what that reform should look like, who gets a say in shaping it and ensuring the well-being of those affected by the shift is taken into account. Shane Williams for News Five.
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