Belize: Double Tax Treaties

In October, 2003, the Prime Minister of Belize, Said Musa announced a five year economic cooperation agreement with Taiwan to help develop and finance basic public services within the Central American jurisdiction. The informatics, computers and telecommunications project worth NT$10 million was signed in 2006 and extended in 2009 for a further five years.

In 2003, Belize signed up to an agreement on intellectual property development. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): "The agreement establishes the terms of a project that is designed to support a more effective integration of the region into the global economy by fostering technological innovation, creativity and competitiveness through intensive and effective mobilization and use of intellectual property."

In June 2005, Belize and Guatemala extended talks on a possible Partial Scope Trade Agreement (PSA). Proposals on market access were cited as the primary reason for the decision to convene a fourth round of talks. These negotiations included the lowering of existing tariff and non-tariff barriers, a move intended to enhance bilateral trade. Provisions for the removal of non-tariff barriers were also included in the agreement. The trade pact also provides an investment promotion and protection framework. Guatemala also proposed measures concerning financial services and tourism. The agreement was signed by Belize in June 2006, it was approved by the Guatemala Congress in October 2009 and came into effect on April 4, 2010.

In January 2006, six Caricom member states formally signed a declaration of their governments' compliance with the provisions of the Treaty establishing the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSM).

The countries, namely Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, became the first six Caricom countries to have signed on to the single market.

Heads of government signed a document entitled 'Declaration by Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community marking the coming into being of the Caricom Single Market'. These Member States entered into Single Market arrangements on 1 January 2006.

Secretary-General Edwin Carrington described the launch of the Single Market as an "historic and unprecedented step" in the regional integration process, and a new dimension that will change the way the people of the region live and work. He urged the region to be "fully prepared" for the challenge that came with the launch of the CSM.

Caricom’s Assistant Secretary-General for Human and Social Development, Dr. Edward Greene, commented that the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons would be an opportunity for Caricom nationals "to make the Caribbean one market that would work for individuals irrespective of their country of origin."

In April 2007, Chief Justice of Belize, Abdulai Conteh, and the President of the Central American Court of Justice, Dr Ricardo Acevedo Peralta, signed a Cooperation Agreement between the Supreme Court of Belize and the Central American Court of Justice. The government of Belize has said that the purpose of the Agreement is to institutionalize inter-jurisdictional relations, develop juridical integration processes in the region and foster wider cooperation.

The Central American Court of Justice is an international court established by five Central American states, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, in 1907. It was dissolved in 1918 and re-established in 1962 by the Organization of Central American States. Its primary purpose is to promote peace and unity between member states and in the region generally.