Tuesday’s report on closer ties between the Tax Offices of St. Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands should not go unnoticed. One reason the development of the local economy failed to produce the kind of widespread prosperity one would desire has traditionally been poor fiscal compliance.
This forces a smaller-than-intended part of society to carry the collective burden and limits what government can do for its people. Moreover, it creates an uneven playing field, undermining the principle of free and open competition, with all possible consequences.
This is an area where cooperation with and assistance from Bonaire could be very beneficial. The Dutch Government has invested in the administration of taxes in its overseas public entities, the so-called BES islands (Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba), since 10-10-10 and tapping into that knowledge and experience would seem to make all the sense in the world.
Using Customs to enhance collection might be an option, although talk of import duties that would affect the destination’s tax-free reputation should be strongly discouraged. Certainly now, with the dominant stay-over tourism sector still struggling to recover, anything with negative impact on the hospitality industry ought to be avoided.
Plans include improving the Tax Office’s service and making more procedures electronic for greater efficiency. Few will argue with those objectives, but a look also needs to be taken at often unrealistic assessments and the apparent lack of willingness to handle objections against such expeditiously.
They say nobody really likes paying taxes but most probably agree that it’s necessary, so long as the process is both fair and transparent.
