MP Silvio Matser’s tax fraud appeal moved to December

GREAT BAY – The appeal of MP Silvio Matser against his conviction for tax fraud with his now defunct construction company Energizer was postponed yesterday afternoon at the request of the defense that wants to hear two additional witnesses. The case will now be heard on December 13, providing that the interviews with the witnesses have taken place before that date.

In January 2015, the court sentenced Matser to 24 months of imprisonment for a string of fiscal offenses. Energizer was sentenced to a fine of 4.5 million guilders. Of Matser’s sentence, 18 months are suspended and he’ll have to do 240 hours of community service. The court imposed 3 years of probation.

The court found Matser guilty of ordering a member of his staff repeatedly to file incorrect wage tax and social premium-statements to the tax office and of repeatedly and intentionally not filing statements for the turnover tax of Energizer. This way, the construction company evaded up to 4 million guilders ($2.25 million) in taxes and premiums, the court ruling states.

Energizer filed incorrect wage tax and premium statements to the tax inspectorate for almost four years – between January 1, 2006 and October 9, 2010. Matser did not file the statements personally, but he told staff members what to do.

Between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007, the company failed to submit statements about the turnover tax it owed for the projects it was working on.

Energizer paid more than 4.8 million guilders in salaries in 2007 alone. The annual financial report, produced by a company called MGM of Matser’s brother Gary mentions gross salaries over that year totaling a bit more than 6 million guilders.

Matser, who has in the meantime been re-elected to parliament as a member of the USp-faction, is also a suspect in a vote-buying investigation dating back to the elections of 2014.

That case was in court on September 21, just before the elections, but it was postponed to October 13 to the dismay of Matser’s attorney Cor Merx who later announced that Matser would have to find another lawyer since he is not available of October 13.

The prosecution has accused Matser of membership of a criminal organization in this case; three inmates at the Pointe Blanche prison were a part of this organization that recruited votes for the UP and for Matser. In the end, of 67 eligible voters, 48 voted for the UP.