MARGOT--Très Petites Entreprises (TPE) President Jeanne Rogers-Vanterpool has written to President Daniel Gibbs to point out the various aid and support measures proposed by the Collectivité will not be sufficient as far as TPE is concerned.
This new crisis that St. Martin is going through since March 17 due to the COVID-19 pandemic is damaging the economy of St. Martin and prevents the island’s businesses and merchants from carrying out their activities for a long period of time, she wrote.
“In such a context, the small businesses that I represent as President for St. Martin and St. Barthélemy are the first to be impacted and they will certainly not be able to recover, especially after having suffered Hurricane Irma, the Caisse Territorial des Oeuvres (CTOS) strike and the disruptions due to the natural risk prevention plan PPRN.
“For this reason, we believe that the various aid, support and assistance measures that you have taken and announced in the press will not be enough. We therefore propose that you initiate a broad consultation with the economic players.
“Your proposal to supplement the State’s Solidarity Fund by releasing an exceptional fund of five million euros and to defer payments of Taxe Général sur les Chiffres d’Affaires (TGCA), corporation tax and commercial patent may suit us if we work out together the implementation of an action plan and the outright abandonment of taxes.”
She said that since the advent of this health, social and economic crisis, the national small business union FTPE and the overseas FTPEs had begun a whole series of works aimed at preserving and defending companies for production, wealth and job creation. They are essential partners in the socio-economic development of the respective territories.
“On Friday, April 24, the Minister of Public Accounts, Gérald Darmanin, announced that businesses in the hotel and restaurant sectors – the heart and lungs of St. Martin’s economy – will benefit from an exemption from social contributions from March to June,” she reminded. “This is excellent news that we welcome, but which can be extended to others. This measure should normally open the door to a generalised cancellation of social and fiscal charges for the year 2020, which should be a ‘zero’ year.
“Moreover, under the umbrella of Comité Departmentale d’Examen des Problemes de Financement des Entreprises CODEFI, we recommend an exceptional collective procedure to reduce the debt of TPEs in difficulty (taxis, building and public works, restaurants, etc.) by connecting it to a recovery plan with measures to improve their cash flow, give them the means to invest and guarantee them access to credit.”
