A world apart
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A world apart

Belize may be part of Central America, but it is a world away from Guatemala City, San Salvador or San José. The entire Atlantic coast of Central America, from Belize to the western tip of Panama, shares an English-speaking Caribbean culture that co-exists uneasily with the bulk of Spanish-speaking Central America.


Belize is unusual in that it has maintained its independence from Guatemala, although sporadic border clashes, the most recent this year, sometimes make that independence precarious.


For some years the Belizean government has battled against the perception that Belize, like other small and underpoliced Caribbean countries, is a haven for drug smugglers. So it may seem surprising that the government has pursued a policy of turning the country into a tax haven. Belize now hosts many companies incorporated for tax purposes. But it has been cautious about the type of oVshore banks it wants to attract and until recently it had none.


Mindful of the dangers, the government has vetted applications to set up oVshore banks thoroughly and the 1996 oVshore bank legislation requires that banks maintain a physical presence in the country. "The government wants oVshore banks but they don't want brass-plate banks," says a local observer.




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