Taxi drivers operating on the French side of the island would have to pay Euros 150.00 per year, while tour bus operators will have to pay Euros 500.00 for each vehicle that uses the parking lots on the French side of the island. Public transportation vehicles such as buses and shuttles will have to pay Euros 100.00 per year per vehicle. Besides the new parking fees independent workers such as taxis, buses and tour operators would have to pay an additional Euros 60.00 each year to renew their permits.
Taxi Drivers on the Dutch side of the island reacted terribly when they received a letter that was sent to them by the French Government informing them of the new laws thinking they were being targeted. The four taxi associations on the Dutch side wrote and co-signed a letter rejecting the plans of the French Government claiming that the French side is looking to start an unnecessary war. The decisions taken by the Collectivity of St. Martin has been published in the official gazette on the French side of the island and the laws can also be viewed online.
A free translation of the articles of the transportation tax laws is below:-
The Territorial Council decides:
Article 1: To approve the implementation of a duty for parking on the public thoroughfare to public passenger carriers, just like the other categories of passenger carriers (taxis, occasional tour transportation).
Article 2: To set the amount of this duty to the yearly sum of ONE HUNDRED (100) Euros, per year, per carrier and per vehicle, payable to the Receiver's Office of the Collectivity.
Article 3: To modify article 2 of the resolution N° CT 26-3-2010 of February 19, 2010 as follows:
"Article 2: The amounts of these fees are the following:
- The yearly identification fee is a yearly amount of sixty (60) Euros per vehicle;
- The parking duty is one hundred and fifty (150) Euros per year per taxi operator;
- For tour transportation operators, the parking duty will be five hundred (500) Euros per vehicle per year;
- For public passenger transportation operators, the parking duty will be one hundred (100) Euros per vehicle per year."
Article 4: The provisions of this resolution will be enforced as of June 1, 2011.
Territorial Councilor Daniel Arnel expressed concerns about Newspapers that are publishing information they received without verifying with officials on the French side of the island. Arnel said his government sent letters to former commissioner of transportation Frans Richardson while he was in office requesting meetings to discuss matters related to public transportation but Richardson he said never responded to the letters and emails that were sent to him.
Besides that Arnel said he sent at least four letters and emails to Minister of Public Transportation Franklin Meyers requesting meetings and he too did not respond to the letters or grant them a meeting. The territorial councilor who is in charge of public transportation said ever since the Union Pour le Progres (UPP) took office they tried effortlessly to meet with the Commissioners and Ministers on the Dutch side of the island but the only people meeting with them are the technicians.
Arnel further explained that when French side authorities realized that they are not being respected they sent letters to the four taxi associations on the Dutch side of the island informing them of the laws which was passed by the Territorial Council since 2010 while a copy of the letter which was signed by the President of Collectivity was also dispatched to the to the Prime Minister last week. "We know when the taxi drivers received this letter they would kick up a storm and then government on the Dutch side will get pressure from their people to meet with the French side officials. "I would like for the Government of the Dutch side to respect us as Government of the French side, since whatever decisions are taken will affect people on both sides of the island," Arnel said.
Arnel said people are accusing the French side for disrespecting the authorities on the Dutch side but he wants everyone to know that when the Dutch side decided to stop the renewal of the Dutch Drivers License they issued to French citizens and residents, the French side government was not informed by the Dutch side. "We learnt of this in the media because many people including fire men were affected and so they went to the media. No one bothered to tell us that they were going to stop renewing those licenses and they did not tell the license holders until when they showed up to renew their drivers license. The territorial councilor said when the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIAE) introduced the law where they would stop accepting French Identification cards as a travel document they learn about it in the media." Arnell said.
Click here to view Transportation Tax Laws 2011
Click here to view Transportation Tax Laws 2010
