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Amanda, I am not suggesting anyone break the law but when the proceeds of the sale are disbursed it is fairly easy to pay the real estate agent less and use the left over money to pay the tax man. There are not ifs, ands, or buts about this method. It is perfectly legal as I am sure the law does not care what or who the source of the money is so long as the tax man is paid. Again, you are very nice lady and I'm sure you are very professional and good at what you do but there is simply nothing that prevents two entities or people to privately contract whatever they want to contract including the payment of taxes however it is handled. Certainly it would be hard to argue that reducing the commission to the agent by agreement and using that money to pay the tax is not perfectly legal. I knew I shouldn't have stuck my oar in here but I buy and sell real estate in the US, Europe and even a bit in Belize. Not looking to cause offense or create any trouble.

No offence or trouble caused - I am familiar with the laws in Belize and also in the US and UK too. I doubt I know anybody that completely plays by the rules of the book at any given time.

Book??

Law books - sorry I am still jet lagged.

Letter of the law. You know, however you feel best saying it - I would think you get the gist.

Martin, I read your posts a couple of times. Is what you're suggesting that the realtors cut their commission to cover the tax?
Amanda, is there a disclosure form of estimated closing costs used in Belize?

I am not suggesting anything at all except that no one is obligated to pay anyone else any specific amount as a commission on real estate. There is no law (anywhere) that I am aware of that says a real estate agent is entitled to a specific rate of commission. You can agree to pay one dollar if the real estate agent will agree to it. Don't get me wrong I am not bashing real estate agents nor am I saying that the service they provide is not a valuable one. What I am saying is that if I am paying for something I don't automatically accept whatever the suggestion is from the agent as to what I should pay. Six or even eight per cent may be perfectly fair on a $80,000 purchase but in my view completely silly on a million dollar deal. That's all I am saying. No news here. You can bargain for anything in a free market with free seller and free buyers.
p.s. Realtor is a particular term that does not apply to all real estate agents.

Six percent is the standard selling expense for the agent fee, isn't it? If I was selling property and my agent wanted to charge 8 or 10 percent, the buyer would have to pay more

No it is 8% plus 12.5% GST if you add them together = 9%. I believe that is what the going rate is.

I thought it was 10% here in Belize