BELIZE

Belize stamps available online at Io Collezionista. The former colony of the British Empire, self governing from 1964, was discovered in the 16th century by two Spanish navigators, Vicente Yanez Pinzon and Juan Diaz de Solis, bound for the Yucatan. The name of the state comes from that of the old capital and port city of Belize City, built near the mouth of a river with the same etymology, which in turn drew either on the notorious privateer Wallace, whose base was in that very area, or on the Maya word belix, muddy water. In 2010 Belize was placed by the OECD on the list of tax havens, alongside other countries with privileged tax regimes such as Panama, Costa Rica and the Cook Islands.