MP Francisco Lacroes asked to receive his answers in writing. MP Sarah A. Wescot-Williams called for a shorter format that would still let the public hear Finance Minister Marinka Gumbs’s responses.

PHILIPSBURG:---  Parliament briefly adjourned its 2027 budget debate on Monday, November 9, after MPs disagreed over how Finance Minister Marinka Gumbs should deliver her remaining first-round answers. MP Francisco Lacroes asked for written replies so he could review them before asking follow-up questions. MP Sarah A. Wescot-Williams proposed a recess to find a way to shorten the proceedings while keeping the answers on the public record.

The exchange began after Gumbs addressed one of Lacroes’s questions about the government’s exposure to healthcare fund deficits, risks at government-owned companies and limited liquidity. She said she intended to provide a consolidated overview to Parliament and the Board of Financial Supervision, or CFT, before the end of November.

Gumbs then asked whether she could send the rest of Lacroes’s answers in writing at his request. The presiding chair said the answers had to be stated on the floor because the meeting was public. Lacroes said written replies would give him time to study the details and prepare his clarifications. He also said the lengthy proceedings were losing the attention of members and viewers.

Wescot-Williams acknowledged the volume of questions still before Gumbs. She pointed to the practice of ministers repeating each question and any accompanying comments before answering, which adds time to the proceedings. She proposed a short recess so members and the minister could agree on a more concise format that would preserve public access to the answers. The chair adjourned the sitting until 2:30 p.m.

Visitor tax draft still under internal review

Before the procedural exchange, Gumbs told MP Omar Ottley that the visitor tax bill was in the final stage of internal legal review. The government aims to send it to the Council of Advice in November, following Cabinet consideration. Gumbs expects to bring the bill before Parliament in the first quarter of 2027, after receiving the council’s advice and making any necessary changes.

Asked about a follow-up report that had been expected by October 1, Gumbs said it had yet to be drafted. She explained that the report would be prepared after the government had reviewed the Council of Advice’s recommendations and settled its position on them.

Ottley also requested details on third-party consultants and service agreements. Gumbs listed agreements covering tax system maintenance and development, assistance with international tax information reporting, server support and financial statement preparation. She identified the Tax Administration’s accounting and advisory budget line but gave no contract-by-contract amounts in this portion of the debate.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Ministry of Justice congratulates six Coast Guard officers who officially took the BAVPOL oath on Thursday, October 29, 2026, administered by Acting Minister of Justice Marinka Gumbs. This marks an important milestone in their professional development, formally authorizing them to commence their operational duties. 

The officers recently completed a one-year training program in Curaçao, where they received the theoretical and practical preparation necessary to carry out their responsibilities. The BAVPOL oath, a legal requirement to exercise their designated law enforcement powers, now allows the officers to begin their operational activities. Their addition strengthens the Ministry’s law enforcement capacity, supporting ongoing efforts to safeguard Sint Maarten’s borders and maintain the country's safety and security. 

Minister of Justice Nathalie Tackling extends her congratulations to the officers, recognizing both their individual achievements and the importance of continued investment in law enforcement personnel. 

“I extend my congratulations to these six officers on reaching this important milestone. Completing a year of training away from home requires discipline, commitment, and sacrifice, and I commend each of them for seeing it through. Strengthening our law enforcement institutions remains a priority for the Ministry of Justice, and investing in the people who serve within them is essential to that effort. These officers now have an important responsibility ahead of them, and I am confident that the knowledge and skills they have gained will contribute positively to the safety and security of Sint Maarten,” said Minister Tackling. 

The Ministry of Justice recognizes the dedication the officers demonstrated throughout their training and wishes them continued success as they take on their new responsibilities. 

Finance minister cites the timing of the 2026 budget after MP Viren Kotai presses for answers on delayed projects, financing and the missing multi-year investment plan.

PHILIPSBURG:---  Finance Minister Marinka Gumbs told Parliament on Monday, November 9, that Cg. 42,111,184 in borrowing planned for 2026 capital projects had been shifted to 2027. She attributed the move to the timing of the approved 2026 budget and said that even after a loan is approved, it can take months for the money to become available.

MP Viren Kotai pressed Gumbs on why the 2026 loan did not receive favorable advice from the Board of Financial Supervision (Cft), whether the absence of a multi-year investment plan played a role, and how much the delay could add to project costs.

Gumbs disputed the premise that the missing investment plan explained the lack of favorable advice. She said previous loans had proceeded without such a plan and that budgets and loan requests are assessed by year. In her account, the Cft’s Article 11 advice called for adjustments to the loan request where needed. She said she had seen no indication at that stage that the loan would fail to go through and therefore had seen no need to issue a warning.

Projects await financing before tenders can go out

Gumbs said the 2027 budget includes about Cg. 98 million in planned investment. Execution depends on the budget and financing. For the new projects discussed in Parliament, she said no tenders had gone out, no contracts had been awarded, and no payments had been made. The government would move to tender once it had a favorable assessment and certainty about financing, she said.

The minister acknowledged that postponing projects can increase their costs. She gave Parliament no estimate of the additional expense. She also said she expected no impact on projected 2027 revenue from the delay because the projects were not expected to generate revenue and had not been included in the International Monetary Fund’s projections.

Some work has separate funding. Gumbs said Cg. 3.5 million from existing resources was earmarked for part of VROMI’s Cg. 9 million capital program. She also said funding had been secured and received for the tax administration system and the government’s enterprise resource planning system, both of which were already underway. The proposed Tax Administration building is a separate project that depends on borrowing in 2027. Preparatory work includes identifying suitable premises.

Government aims to answer five Cft concerns by month’s end

Gumbs said the government aimed to update the Cft and Parliament by the end of November on five issues. They include the financial position of the healthcare funds, risks at TelEm and Postal Services Sint Maarten, and the government’s liquidity and revised revenue estimates. The update is also expected to cover the multi-year investment agenda and the status of the collective sector, which bears on the assessment of the country’s interest burden.

On the proposed National Development Bank, Gumbs told Parliament it would receive the multi-year investment plan before any decision to establish the bank. She said the National Recovery Program Bureau was studying financing options for small businesses. A separate infrastructure fund spanning Justice, TEATT and VROMI remained at a preliminary stage, with no borrowing amount or cost presented.

The next documents will show how much of the delayed work can realistically go ahead in 2027. The investment plan is expected to give Parliament more detail on how projects will be financed and carried out. Monday’s answers set the amount of borrowing being moved into the next budget year, while the cost of the delay and the tender dates remained open.

Gumbs targets early 2027 for the visitor levy to reach Parliament and says the government must first model who would pay under a financial transaction tax.

PHILIPSBURG:---  A proposed visitor tax could bring in about Cg. 26 million in a full year after implementation and operating costs, Finance Minister Marinka Gumbs told Parliament on Monday, November 9. The figure is preliminary, and the timing of the first collections depends on legislative approval and whether the government has its payment systems ready.

Gumbs said the estimate draws on passenger data that includes residents, connecting passengers and people who could qualify for exemptions. The eventual rules on who pays will affect how much the levy brings in. The government excluded the projected proceeds from its draft 2027 budget.

When could the first guilder come in?

Responding to MP Veronica Jansen-Webster, Gumbs said the proposal was in final internal legal review. The government was targeting November for the Cabinet and Council of Advice stages, with submission to Parliament targeted for the first quarter of 2027.

Gumbs said the goal was to begin collecting the levy one to two months after the law takes effect. That schedule depends on the legislative process and on getting the hardware, software and payment arrangements in place. The government would also need to inform travelers and others affected by the new levy.

MP Sjamira Roseburg raised the possibility of using a temporary room-tax measure or increasing the existing rate. Gumbs said Finance was prioritizing the visitor levy while TEATT’s draft room-tax amendment underwent legal review. The scope and rates of that amendment remain undecided. Gumbs made no commitment to set aside the proceeds for GEBE relief or social assistance and said spending would require approval through the budget process.

Why Cg. 11.8 billion in payments tells only part of the story

A separate proposal to tax financial transactions drew questions from MP Viren Kotai. Gumbs cited a TEATT figure of about Cg. 11.8 billion in payment transactions in 2022, but said the volume alone could not establish what a tax would yield. The same money can move more than once, and the total can include payroll and transfers between related accounts. How the law treats those payments would determine how much activity is taxable.

Gumbs said the government also has to examine whether a charge could accumulate as money moves through multiple transactions, whether businesses would pass the cost on to consumers, and whether some payments would move outside the formal banking system. Finance and TEATT are developing scenarios for the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten to analyze. The government has not decided to introduce the tax and has budgeted no revenue from it.

MP Raeyhon Peterson also raised a proposal for a 4.5 percent capital gains tax involving notaries. Gumbs said that specific proposal had yet to be assessed. A concept involving nonresidents remains under consideration, though she said limited administrative capacity puts it lower on the government’s priority list.

For the visitor levy, the next milestone is a bill reaching Parliament. For the transaction tax, the next step is to establish which payments could be taxed, how much the measure could raise, and who would ultimately bear the cost.