Lobo Vetoes Security Tax Bill

Honduras Weekly
President Porfirio Lobo this morning confirmed that he has vetoed the "security tax" legislation (Decree 252-2011) passed by Congress on December 14, 2011. The bill sought to impose a US$17 tax on people entering Honduras and another US$17 for those leaving. News of the proposed new tax was made public late last week and had become another source of controversy for the Lobo administration, fueling confusion and anger against the government for trying to finance its policies by imposing fees on tourists, business travelers, and volunteer workers who visit and invest in Honduras. On Monday, Minister of Communications Miguel Ángel Bonilla announced that President Lobo would not approve the tax, nor the sole-source contract to Securiport LLC for identity tracking equipment and services at Honduran air, land, and sea ports of entry and exit which the tax was meant to fund.

Until today, however, it was unclear whether Mr. Lobo had actually vetoed the tax bill, leading some members of Congress to warn that failure to do so would allow the measure to take effect automatically. On Tuesday, Congressman José Alfredo Saavedra of the Liberal Party stressed that without an actual presidential veto "we are leaving a window open, we are leaving a door open so that at any moment that decree can become the law of the land". He added, "I respectfully ask the President of the Republic to once and for all veto this decree, because legally that is the procedure." (1/13/12)