Philipsburg:--- Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt told reporters on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' press briefing that he informed the Dutch Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Liesbeth Spies that the government of St. Maarten intends to reopen the discussions on the debt relief for St. Maarten when the new government takes office next week. Minister Tuitt said that he informed the Minister that since 10/10/10 the promises that were made by the Netherlands were not kept. These promises were to establish certain departments that were not on St. Maarten and to also provide technical assistance and guidance to establish these departments locally. He said thus far neither Curacao or the Netherlands have maintained their promise regarding the debt relief and assistance.
Tuitt said that the Dutch government wants St. Maarten to remove the Turn Over Taxes (TOT) from all citizens residing in the BES islands. The Finance Minister said the discussion on this matter is ongoing, however, he wants the Dutch government to reopen the discussion on the debt relief for St. Maarten and make good on their promise to provide assistance and guidance to St. Maarten since 10/10/10.
The Finance Minister said that most residents on the BES islands purchase their goods at one location on St. Maarten and St. Maarten does not keep records of how much TOT the BES islands resident's pays to St. Maarten. He said he would have to get the information and data from the BES islands now that they are in discussion about the elimination of TOT for the BES islands. He made clear that St. Maarten would only consider and grant the request of the Dutch if they agreed to the demands of St. Maarten regarding debt relief and technical assistance in building certain departments locally.
TEMPO Turn 7 Contract Finalized --- $300,000.00 already paid out.
The Finance Minister also confirmed on Wednesday that the contract with TEMPO for Tempo Turns 7 is complete and the government of St. Maarten has already paid out the sum of $300,000.00 to TEMPO while they will pay the final $100,000.00 when the shows are completed.
When asked by SMN News where did the government of St. Maarten find the monies to finance TEMPO, Minister Tuitt said the monies were taken from what was budgeted for Tourism.
When SMN News asked the Minister of Finance if St. Maarten is getting the amount of coverage it is paying for and if he knows how much monies the French side of the island paid into TEMPO Turns 7, Tuitt said that he does not know how much the French side contributed but he assured that there are people checking the shows to ensure that TEMPO delivers what it promised based on the signed contract.
No Increase of TOT --- Overhauling of Tax System.
Both the Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt and Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams assured reporters on Wednesday that the government of St. Maarten has not taken any decisions on increasing TOT to fill the budget gaps and clear debts for 2013. Tuitt said that he is still of the opinion that if everyone pays their fair share of taxes then St. Maarten would have more than enough monies in its coffers to cover its budget expenditures. Tuitt said right now St. Maarten is faced with the debts of the past two years. However, he intends to discuss the matter with the CFT and to see if it is possible for St. Maarten to spread its debt over a five year period.
Wescot Williams added that the news about the possible increase of TOT created quite a panic within the community. She said so far the Minister and Finance and her have been discussing the restructuring of the tax system.
