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Overhaul tax system once & for all.

-- 25 years of compliance efforts prove system un-fixable --

PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), the largest private business representative on the island, has taken note of reports in the media with regard to "Dutch assistance for the tax office".
In the early nineties, St. Maarten was placed under "higher supervision" in part because public finances were not in order and non-compliance was a major issue. Almost 25 years later they still aren't anywhere near being in order, in fact compliance is still reportedly no better than 30%, and at any rate appears to be decreasing, as reported by the CFT in January 2014. Since the public sector is still talking about increasing compliance and institutional strengthening, it begs the question; what improvements have been attempted over the last quarter century? And of course; why should we expect a different result this time around?
So many times increasing compliance in St. Maarten means squeezing more out of the 30% than finding the remaining 70%. Over the last 4 years alone, there have been many empty promises of tax reform, increased compliance and broadening of the tax-base, but the only thing the public has received is new and increased taxation. The reports from the CFT point out the deteriorated backlog positions on SZV and APS, without a resolution on which there can be no approved budget for 2015. However, year after year there is a very notable absence of significant cost-reductions in public sector spending. With all of this out in the open, we now have a pretty clear indication that we can once again expect "revenue-increasing measures" (a.k.a. tax hikes) to be implemented within short. Measures that clearly the current formal economy cannot sustain without real gains on reducing the informal economy and spreading the taxable base.
It seems clear to the SHTA that after 25 years of trying to "fix" our current fiscal system we can safely say that it has proven itself to be un-fixable, and by all comparisons outdated. Why not dust off advices from previous committees, paid and unpaid consultants—including the SHTA, and finally design a fiscal system that is simple to administer, easy to understand for all citizens, with a lower effective rate, thereby reducing the desire for companies and individuals to operate outside of it. Something that has been proven all over the world to be the best driver for increasing both compliance and revenues. Indeed, why not? Now is the opportunity, clean it up once and for all.

SHTA Press Release

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