Dear Editor,
There are basically two major methods of collecting tax. One is collecting a percentage of personal incomes and corporate incomes. This is called direct taxation. The other is to collect tax from transactions and this is called indirect taxation.
You will have heard our politicians argue the case for indirect taxation in St. Maarten and indeed over the years a larger percentage of tax collection has occurred in this manner, Indirect taxation is likely to be a significant part of tax collection in the future and our main instrument is called Turnover Tax.
Most islands in the Caribbean have chosen to collect indirect taxation at the border for important practical reasons, In St. Maarten in contrast there is no collection at the border and indeed transactions originating abroad are not taxed at all. The lack of border taxation stems from a long history of an open border with the French side and a history of rapid development that was associated with the ability to purchase goods abroad and land them tax free.
This anomaly in taxation where imports are free of “turnover tax” whilst the sale of inventoried goods on island creates an unlevel playing field for all parties. This anomaly has to date not heavily impacted the island’s economy. But slowly and surely the purchase of goods offshore, assisted by online facilities is going to negatively influence trade in the country. Especially with high ticket goods the opportunities for local traders will reduce and the country will be unintentionally providing benefits to unregistered traders in other countries.
Making any change to this situation requires there to be some arrangement with the French side so that importation to either side would attract the same level of taxation and the taxation revenue would accrue to each of the tax authorities in a balanced fashion. Without that no effective control over importation is possible. The IMF have recognized this challenge and pointed to the need to have good management over indirect importation. There seems to be little optimism that the French side might ever collaborate to help eliminate this problem.
Due to there being no border control that has the responsibility to report, it is not possible to know the extent to which importation by unregistered businesses are using the territory to trade without any tax burden whatsoever.
There is a gain to be had for country St. Maarten that will have long term benefits if this tax conundrum is to be solved. To date there is little evidence there is much motivation to solve the problem.
Robbie Ferron
Dear Editor,
I stand corrected, but I cannot recall our Minister of Justice publicly blaming anyone for the cause of her department not complying with the desires of the in-excess-of-700 justice workers. If I have it right her explanation was that the governor wanted a little more information and explanation.
Why am I going down this road? Because for years now I have not seen any improvement in anyone vying for office in our government. Their motto is “Layback and lay and wait”.
As I continue, permit me to ask if there is a difference between “Judicial system” and “Justice system”. I ask this because, at the risk of being accused of nitpicking, I noted that in a letter to you, “Process of nation building is a priority”, in the enumeration of the consolidation of the pillars, “Justice system” was not mentioned. I believe I know why.
I have to point this out because I maintain that so many people have been in government since 2010. People who have profited and are still profiting, people who could have contributed, but did absolutely nothing, people who have seen an integral part of the justice system systematically degrade, now that the present Minister of Justice who fought and is still fighting tooth and nail to bring the justice system up to par, those same people are devious where it comes to criticizing the tireless efforts of the present Minister of Justice.
I read the letter to you concerning “… how police holding cells were managed in the past” and when I saw who it came from I automatically said to myself, “Twaalf ambachten, dertien ongelukken” (Jack of all trades, master of none).
Someone who also knows the individual called me and told me that he should be the last person to attack the Minister of Justice. My answer was, “Possibly he is thinking if others could use all kinds of indecent language and get votes via social media, he too could attack the Minister and also get votes.”
They are applying Trump’s tactics “Go at the man to get”. And the person “to get” for this election is the Minister of Justice Anna Richardson, because she is the most popular right now in the sight of people. If they did not jump on her they might have had a chance, but by jumping on her they draw attention to what she was and is still doing, which is tirelessly and selflessly trying to get rectification of monies owed to approximately 700 justice workers.
I will continue to highlight this kind of behaviour from aspiring politicians. Since the author of that letter is so well versed in the history of police holding cells, I will assume that he is also well versed in another integral part of police work, which is the traffic laws.
One of those laws, which plays a vital role in obstruction of the traffic, is the law concerning the layout and purpose of “bus stops”. I am citing this because the author of that letter, who is criticizing the minister on her views of how the holding cells were managed, claims to be a candidate for the NOW political party. So I am asking him to find out if his party leader was “confused” when he decided the manner in which those bus stops and bus-stop huts should be laid out and erected along Walter Nisbeth Road?
Not being biased, my advice would be to look up the laws concerning the layout of bus stops and even if it takes another half of a page of the newspaper, explain to the people the intention of bus stops and how they should be laid out and used.
Even though I am aware that politics and integrity do not go hand in hand, I still expect some kind of dignified behavior from the candidates of the various political parties. And lying is not showing a composed or serious manner that is worthy of respect. That is just like James Russell wrote, wrong, wrong, wrong.
A word of advice: “A rolling stone gathers no moss.” And I would add for all of those critics of the Minister of Justice: She has a listening ear and an open door policy, make use of it.
Russell A. Simmons
Dear Government of St. Maarten,
I hope this message finds you well. There is a matter of urgent concern within our community regarding the recent news of Orco Bank's acquisition of First Caribbean Bank and the potential termination of all 25 current employees.
As concerned citizens, we seek clarity on the actions that the government of St. Maarten plans to take in response to this situation. The potential job losses have raised apprehensions within the community about the well-being of the affected employees and the broader economic impact.
We kindly request information on any measures, interventions, or negotiations that the government is considering to address this issue and safeguard the interests of our citizens. Transparency in this matter is crucial for building trust and ensuring that the community is informed about the steps being taken on their behalf.
We appreciate your attention to this urgent matter and look forward to receiving updates on the government's actions in response to the acquisition and termination of employees.
Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Quincy Rochester
Dear Editor,
The decision by the Minister of Justice, Anna Richardson, to return the responsibility of the police holding cells after 12 years to the management of the police force of St. Maarten (KPSM), in the manner of which she did, has only caused confusion within the organization.
It is indeed the norm in the Kingdom and worldwide that the management of any police force manages the police holding cells, but that is done with a proper plan of approach and structure. The Minister of Justice also mentioned that it is not unique for the police force of St. Maarten, as the holding cells were managed by the police management in the past, that the Ministry of Justice and Police Force has updated its function book with the function detainee guard.
The Minister of Justice stated that the decision was not abrupt in the Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday November 8, 2023, and that discussions had been ongoing for some time and even years since she assumed office, with KPSM and the prison management but have proven futile and the respective managements would need to elaborate further on the matter.
The function of the detainee guard is new to KPSM. No recruitment was done for such a function. The Minister of Justice doesn’t have a clue as to how the police holding cells were managed before the so-called temporary decision by then Minister of Justice Roland Duncan back in 2011. At the beginning of each shift, two police officers would be assigned to do a cell check. Not that police officers would function as prison guards and definitely not as a detainee guard attached to the police holding cells.
My question to the Minister of Justice: What is the job description of a detainee guard or security? What salary scale is attached to that function? How many positions are available for the function? What type of training would one get for such a function?
The Minister failed to mention that the new function book is not in effect and that no one should be placed in such a function that currently doesn’t exist in the current organization and is also against the current police legal position “Rechtspositie”.
The management of KPSM has issued letters to certain police officers. Many of these police officers are considered “persona non grata” or police officers that aren’t liked and or continuously being victimized by the management of KPSM.
The signed letter by Chief of Police Carl M. John reads:
“With this letter, I would like to inform you of an important development within the Ministry of Justice. The Justice Minister has recently assigned KPSM to take over the management of the cell complex effective from November 11, which means that from then on we will be in charge of the task of detainee security. This change was initiated from the Ministry of Justice.
“The management of detainee security will be transferred to the divisie Executieve Ondersteuning and this will be the responsibility of the Head of Executive Support. This will ensure a more streamlined and coordinated approach to our activities.
“Management has decided that you will become part of the new team of detainee security guards. This means you will be working in the cell complex at KPSM starting November 11.
“A coordinator has been appointed for day-to-day management and as a point of contact for the new group. This coordinator will ensure that operational tasks run smoothly and will be available to handle any staff questions and concerns.
“The new shift schedule will be on a full-continuous system, meaning that four shifts will be used. This means that day, evening and night shifts will be run to meet the operational needs of the cell complex.
“Next week the new schedule will be published in mDr and it will be in effect from Saturday, November 11. So please keep a close eye on mDr. We understand that these changes may require adjustment, but we are confident that these changes are in good hands with you.
“We appreciate your dedication and commitment to KPSM and trust that you and your colleagues will meet the new challenges with the same determination. We look forward to a successful transition and thank you for your continued dedication to the security of St. Maarten.”
This is an insult to police officers who have studied for 16 months to 2 years to become full-fledged police officers to serve and protect the Sint Maarten people. This decision by the Minister was abrupt and will hinder growth of police officers within the organization. Some of these officers share their ambition to become detectives or to be specialized in other functions. Many officers share the sentiments that this is rather a demotion with no possibility of growth.
In such a situation, If I was Minister of Justice, I would have waited until the function book was official and started a recruitment drive for the position of detainee guard or security within KPSM.
Lyndon C.J. Lewis
NOW political party candidate
Dear Editor,
I, Julian Rollocks Jr, noticed with great concern that on November 9, 2023, it was reported in the media that GEBE intends to give its clients their outstanding bills in bulk with a distinct possibility of clients getting 20 outstanding bills simultaneously. GEBE also announced that clients would only have a 30 day grace period to settle their outstanding bills. I, Julian Rollocks Jr., would like to pose the following questions to the Board and Management of GEBE.
Firstly, with the Christmas season steadily approaching and the difficult economic times that the public is facing, where are they supposed to find money to make bulk payments of outstanding bills? Has GEBE considered a payment plan, and if so, is GEBE willing to accept, for example, NAf. 50 a month on $2,000.00 worth of outstanding bills? Has GEBE considered the plight of our pensioners and people with varying illnesses when they have to contend with these bulk payments?
I am calling on Prime Minister Jacobs and the Council of Ministers to step in and resolve GEBE’s bulk payment proposal, because 80% of the general public do not have comparable salaries to the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers to make bulk payments.
In August of 2022, I proposed via a press release that GEBE introduce a prepaid electricity service to the general public of St. Maarten due to the ongoing issues that GEBE has had with its billing system. I indicated that prepay meters are a “pay as you go” (PAYG) system that would offer GEBE customers the luxury of not having to worry about monthly bills. If for some reason, you are struggling to pay GEBE’s bills, prepayment meters can be used to repay a set amount over a period of time that is suitable to the customer.
I also stated that the implementation of a prepaid system would allow our citizens to control how much they are willing to spend on energy usage rather than getting unexpected bills on a monthly basis, while also cutting administrative costs of GEBE.
On the 24th of October, Prime Minister Jacobs and the director of NRPB had a meeting where it was stated that the NRPB would be assisting GEBE. When does the NRPB intend to assist GEBE and in what capacity does the NRPB intend to do so?
GEBE’s decision to implement bulk payments is not in the general interest of the public of St. Maarten and I am calling on the Prime Minister, Council of Ministers, and Parliament, to resolve the bulk payment proposal as soon as possible because it will be detrimental to the people of St. Maarten.
Julian Rollocks Jr.
