Steba Tax Letter

St. Eustatius Business Association To:

Executive Council Island Territory St. Eustatius Government Guesthouse St. Eustatius

To:

Minister of Finance Mrs. E.T.M Delanooy Fort Amsterdam Willemstad Curacao

St. Eustatius, September 7th 2009

After years of neglect a few months ago finally an office of the Inspectorate of Taxes has been opened on Statia. Also technical assistance has been acquired from The Netherlands to assist the Government with the backlog in taxes existing on the island. STEBA applauds this move, which in our opinion is far overdue and comes in a time that the Netherlands Antilles are being dismantled and when we have to put our attention on a new fiscal regime as the island becomes part of the Netherlands in the new constitutional structure. The process to deal with the backlog in the meantime has started and many assessments and summons have been distributed. The law allows the Inspectorate to go as far back as 5 years to collect taxes by individual tax payers and businesses. We have major concerns about the impact this may have on the economy of our island and the survival changes of our local businesses. Especially in a time of economic decline and recession, which is also seriously felt under the businesses in Statia, a measure like this one, that will have severe fmancial consequences for businesses, could not corne at a worst moment. In our opinion the responsibility of the poor tax morale and non-compliance does not primarily lie by the tax payer but by the tax authority. An environment oflaissez faire created by the Government whereby the present tax laws were hardly enforced over a large number of years is in our opinion the main reason for the decline in tax morale on

L.E. Saddlerweg z/n, St. Eustatius, Netherlands Antilles Phone: 599-318-3232; Fax: 599-318-3232; Email: infoialsteba.biz

St. Eustatius Business Association the island. For this reason also government should take responsibility for it and should not put the sole responsibility by the taxpayer. Holland has given the various governments of the Antilles financial assistance and support to get their poor fmancial households in order. It will be more than fair that also Government follows this example and gives businesses and other taxpayers enough leeway to get their financial households in order as well. Government should not pass on the entire buck to the taxpayer for something that they also should take responsibility for. Where two are at fault, two should carry the burden. STEBA therefore recommends Government to consider a grace period for all outstanding taxes and not to go back any farther then Jan 1st 2007 in stead of the full five years until Jan 1st 2004. We do realize that it might be felt unfair by those who are up to date with their taxes, but we believe that in this particular case it is more important to safeguard the economy of the island and as much as possible to avoid unnecessary closures of businesses. We sincerely hope that Government will follow our recommendation in the interest of not only the business sector but of the economy in general of our island.

"M~ Secretary

Cc:

Island Council Members 81. Eustatius Inspectorate of Taxes 81. Maarten Information Center 81. Eustatius

L.E. Sadd1erweg z/n, St. Eustatius, Netherlands Antilles Phone: 599-318-3232; Fax: 599-318-3232; Email: [email protected]