Imposition of business tax

(1) Subject to this Part, there shall be levied upon and paid by– (a) every individual, self-employed professional, firm, or partnership (other than a 79 company) a tax to be known as “business tax” at the rates specified in section 107, on all receipts, whether received in Belize or elsewhere; and (b) every company a tax to be known as “business tax” at the rates specified in section 107, on all receipts, whether received in Belize or elsewhere, including– (i) receipts that are not related to a trade, business, profession, or vocation carried on in Belize; and (ii) gains, including gains of a capital nature, described in section 108A(2) (j). (2) For the purposes of this Part, interest paid by the Government, or by a resident or non-resident of Belize, on debts incurred or money borrowed and used for the purposes of a business or profession carried on in Belize shall be deemed to accrue in Belize and, as such, shall be subject to the provisions of this Part. (3) Sub-section (1) of this section, shall not apply to employment income as defined in this Part. (4) Where the Commissioner is satisfied that– (a) a person or entity liable to pay tax is engaged primarily in export business or industry and the primary product originates in Belize; (b) the respective of the processor/exporter and the primary producer arising out of such business or industry are determined by reference to a price formula or a scheme for co-operative distribution; and 80 (c) the business or industry involved is in the nature of agriculture, food or food processing, the tax shall be computed by reference to the receipts derived at the completion of processing and be levied on the processor/exporter accordingly, and shall not be recoverable from primary producers. (5) Sub-section 1(b) shall not apply in respect of a period, as well as all following periods within the same calendar year, to a company that– (a) is a resident of a foreign country, other than a country on the European Union list of non- cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, for purposes of the income or profit tax imposed by such country; (b) has no permanent establishment in Belize; and (c) files a form claiming the benefits of this sub- section by the due date for filing a return in respect of such period under section 109(1). (6) The form described in sub-section (5)(c) shall list the jurisdiction of which the company is a tax resident, and shall list all beneficial owners of the company owning or controlling 5% or more of the company’s shares, as well as all direct or indirect legal owners, including information on the tax residency of such legal or beneficial owners. (7) The Director General shall send a copy of the form described in sub-section (5)(c) to the competent authorities of the country or countries listed as the tax residence of the company and of its legal or beneficial owners, in accordance with articles 4 and 7 of the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. CAP. 104. 81 (8) In this section, “beneficial owner” has the meaning assigned to it in the Money Laundering and Terrorism (Prevention) Act. (9) The amount of gains described in section 108A(2)(j) taken into account for purposes of this Part in respect of the realization of an asset shall be the net gain, computed as the net proceeds from the realization less the asset’s cost, such gains shall be reduced by any deductible capital losses realized during the year. (10) The deduction for capital losses in respect of a particular kind of property is limited to the amount of gains from property of a like kind realized during the year. (11) The total gains shall be computed on an annual basis, regardless of the tax period used for other receipts, and the total gains reduced by the deductible capital losses shall be known as annual net gain.