MP De Weever: “Our tax system is a bit absurd”
PHILIPSBURG — “We need to stop talking about tax reform and start reform,” independent MP Ludmila de Weever said in a meeting of parliament with Finance Minister Ardwell Irion. We need reform that empowers our country and most importantly our people, the MP said.
De Weever pointed out that in 2010 the profit tax in both St. Maarten and Curacao was 34.5 percent. In the meantime, Curacao has lowered this tax to 22 percent. “In St. Maarten it has stayed on the same level.”
‘Out tax system is a little bit absurd,” MP de Weever continued. “The minister has done a lot of work to promote SME’s (small and medium sized enterprises) but our tax system makes it really difficult for them to thrive. They have to pay 5 percent turnover tax every month and at the end of the year 34.5 percent profit tax. That makes it really uninviting to invest here.”
She added that entrepreneurs get the advice from their accountants and financial advisors not to disclose all of their profits because of the high level of profit tax.
“We are now in 2023. Why has it taken so long to change anything? Those who do pay taxes do not see a return on their payments because we have crappy roads and they complain about our education system. Our tax system needs to be revamped, it is already twelve years late. What we should not do is make life harder for our citizens by imposing more taxes.”
During a radio-interview with Lady Grace in the Breakfast show, MP De Weever criticized initiatives to expropriate Mullet Bay.
“Tell me how expropriating Mullet Bay will improve people’s lives,” she said. “What we need to focus on is: how am I going to let my people earn more money through tax reform that is already thirteen years late. All we are doing is making our people poor and that is not going to help.”
De Weever threw out a random number associated with the appropriation of Mullet Bay. “That is going to cost, say, $200 million, but after that your people are still suffering and not earning enough. Focus instead on what is making their lives better, focus on improving the education system, focus on getting school back up and running and focus on getting kids back in school because for the last year some of them have been without a school. What are you doing to empower our people so that they have a future? Nada. You are keeping them in a position to suit your purposes of enriching yourself in a government position.”
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