Editing 2005 Belize unrest (section)

== January 2005 budget protests ==
[[Civil disorder|Civil unrest]] broke out in the [[Capital (political)|capital]] city of [[Belmopan]] in [[Belize]] during mid-January 2005.  The unrest was provoked by the release of a new national budget with significant tax increases.  It was also guided by anger at the ruling [[People's United Party]] for the worsening fiscal condition of the Belizean government.

=== Run-up ===
On January 14, 2005 [[Said Musa]]'s administration announced its budget for 2005-2006.<ref>
http://www.channel5belize.com/archive_detail_story.php?story_id=13353{{Dead link|date=April 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Channel 5, January 14:
"PM: hard choices = tax increases"
</ref> The budget included major tax increases on a variety of businesses and commodities.  It included an 11% increase in the [[real estate]] sales tax, a five percent tax increase for financial institutions, an eight percent tax increase on tobacco, and a 100% tax increase on [[rum]]. The government claims that these tax increases were comparable to increases instituted in 1998 under the [[United Democratic Party (Belize)|United Democratic Party]] (UDP). However, after years of popular frustration at alleged financial mismanagement and corruption by the [[People's United Party]] (PUP), the new budget sparked condemnation from local interest groups<ref>
http://www.channel5belize.com/archive_detail_story.php?story_id=13315{{Dead link|date=April 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Channel 5, January 11, 2005. "Private sector lobbies for no new taxes"</ref> and protests at the [[National Assembly of Belize|National Assembly]] building on January 14, with demonstrations continued throughout the following week. The main protesters were the [[National Trade Union Congress of Belize]] and the Belize Chamber of Commerce.

[[Image:protest 0082.JPG|thumb|Crowds outside the National Assembly, with signs calling for the resignation of [[Prime Minister of Belize|Prime Minister]] [[Said Musa]].]]