Interpretation

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires“agricultural land” means land outside the limits of suburban lands, beach lands or towns; “base date” in relation to valuation roll for a district means the date when the revision of valuation roll for that district comes into force; “beach land” means land situated along the coast of any mainland and lying within half a mile of the sea; “Cayes” means all offshore islands other that those (or part thereof) which fall within the Towns Property Tax Act; “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Land Tax; CAP. 65. 7 “Declared unimproved value” means the value declared on unimproved land for taxation purposes as set out in Schedule IV; CAP.94. “district” means any district as defined by the Inferior Courts Act,; “land” means all land, tenements and hereditaments whether corporeal or incorporeal, and all chattels or other interests therein, and all trees growing or standing thereon, and includes lagoons and open water; “Minister” means the Minister responsible for lands and “Ministry” shall be construed accordingly; “occupier”, in relation to any land, means the owner thereof, except that where a person other than the owner has a right to occupy the land by virtue of a tenancy granted for a term, “occupier” means that person; “owner” means the person who, whether jointly or separately, is seised or possessed of or entitled to any estate or interest in land; “Registrar” means the Registrar of Lands or the Registrar General, as the case may be; “suburban land” means land outside the boundaries of a town lying within a five-mile radius of the centre of any such town and any other place which the Minister may designate for the purpose of this Act; “town” means the cities of Belize and Belmopan, the towns of Corozal, Orange Walk, Dangriga, San Ignacio, Punta Gorda, Benque Viejo del Carmen, San Pedro and the villages of Caye Caulker, St. Georges Caye and such other towns or places as the Minister may at any time, by Order, declare to be towns for the purpose of this Act, and it shall be lawful for the Minister at any time by Order to declare that any town or place shall cease to be a “town” for the purposes of this Act; and 8 “unimproved value” means the market value in vacant possession assuming that at the time as at which the value is required to be ascertained, the improvements made on the land do not exist, Provided that in determining such market value no allowance shall be made on the ground that the market will be depressed on account of the entirety of the land being placed in such market at one time.