After Aruba, Curaçao too signed an agreement with Airbnb (see related story). What was dubbed the “sharing economy” is having a major impact on tourism destinations all over the world and the prevailing wisdom appears to be “if you can’t beat them, join them.”
Part of the reason is to try to recoup some of the lost revenues for Government. Curaçao is said to have some 300 alternative accommodations that don’t pay the OB sales tax, costing the national treasury between 8 and 10 million Antillean guilders per year.
The question is whether and when St. Maarten should follow suit. The issue was discussed during the International Shared Ownership Investment Conference last October attended by Prime Minister William Marlin.
Those present were called on to “engage” services like Airbnb and Home Away described as “disrupters.” The Dutch side had only 350 such listings at the time, but this number probably will be higher by now.
In reality, the phenomenon of foreign vacation home owners who rent out their property when not on-island has been going on locally for years. The problem is that often not a dime in taxes is paid on the income.
Efforts to introduce a so-called condo tax to tackle this matter failed, so working with the “new providers” to address the situation at least regarding their clients would seem the most sensible approach at this juncture.
