PHILIPSBURG:---  On June 24, 2025, the Parliament of Sint Maarten approved the draft national ordinance to enact the budget for the year 2025.

The Minister of Finance, Marinka J. Gumbs, expressed appreciation for the approval and emphasized that she now looks forward to the formal enactment of the budget.

The Central Committee meetings commenced on June 9, 2025, leading to today’s successful approval in the public meeting of Parliament.

Minister Gumbs extended her gratitude to all Members of Parliament for their contributions and engagement throughout the process, stating, ““While I am pleased with the approval, my focus now turns to the formal enactment and execution of the budget. This is where the real work begins or better said continues, delivering on the plans and priorities outlined in this budget for the benefit of our people”.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Building on the momentum of its earlier “Island Hopping” webinar this year, the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau (STB) successfully hosted a MICE-focused webinar on June 18, targeting Latin American travel trade professionals. The event, held in strategic collaboration with Copa Airlines, drew participation from over 150 travel agents and tour operators from across the Latin American region.

The webinar highlighted St. Maarten’s premier facilities and services for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events (MICE), reaffirming the island’s commitment to becoming a leading MICE destination in the Caribbean.

Travel professionals received in-depth presentations from representatives of key hospitality partners, including Copa Airlines, Sonesta Resorts Sint Maarten, JW Marriott Sint Maarten Beach Resort & Spa, Simpson Bay Resort, Marina & Spa, and Hill’s Event Hall. Each property showcased its unique offerings tailored to the MICE market, providing valuable insights into venue capacities, corporate packages, and group services.

“With continued recovery and renewed interest from Latin American markets, our goal is to position St. Maarten as a top-tier MICE destination in the Caribbean,” said Luis Hurtault, STB’s Marketing Officer for the Latin American Market. “This webinar gave trade professionals direct access to the island’s best venues for corporate and incentive travel.”

The Latin American market continues to show promising growth, with over 10,000 visitors arriving in 2024 to date, and even greater potential projected in the months ahead. STB’s ongoing webinar strategy remains a cost-effective and impactful way to engage directly with key influencers in the region.

STB encourages local tourism stakeholders to collaborate in future virtual events and broader marketing campaigns to further amplify St. Maarten’s visibility and competitiveness in the Latin American MICE market.

For more information or to explore partnership opportunities, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.vacationstmaarten.com.

PHILIPSBURG: --- Tax reforms are critical for any country striving for financial stability and growth. For St Maarten, the implementation of focused measures like the dividend withholding tax represents a pivotal step toward a sustainable fiscal future. By ensuring fairness, improving compliance, and securing government revenue, these measures not only address long-standing issues but also set the stage for a more equitable and efficient tax system.

But why is this reform necessary, and what are its broader implications? Below, we examine how mechanisms such as dividend withholding tax benefit the country, the challenges they aim to address, and the steps required to establish a more robust and sustainable fiscal framework.

The Case for Tax Reform in Sint Maarten

For years, St Maarten has relied heavily on local taxpayers—individual wage earners and businesses—for government revenue. Taxes like wage tax and turnover tax are automatically deducted and paid regularly, ensuring government liquidity. However, other forms of tax collection, like dividend tax, present significant compliance challenges, particularly when involving non-resident shareholders.

Currently, Sint Maarten’s tax-to-GDP ratio is approximately 16%, lagging behind neighboring territories like Aruba (20%) and Curaçao (26%). The international average in the Caribbean region is between 22% and 30%, indicating room for improvement. Increasing this ratio responsibly is crucial to meeting future financial obligations, improving public services, and providing relief by eventually reducing other taxes, such as profit tax and wage tax.

The dividend withholding tax is a reform designed not to introduce additional taxation but to enhance compliance with existing laws. By withholding a portion of taxes at the source, the government can secure revenue in real-time, addressing gaps in compliance and contributing to a more stable fiscal future.

How the Dividend Withholding Tax Works

Dividends—profits distributed by a company to its shareholders—are already subject to taxation under Sint Maarten’s income tax laws. The existing dividend tax is set at 18.75%. However, in many cases, particularly with non-resident shareholders, these taxes often go uncollected due to legal and logistical barriers.

The dividend withholding tax introduces a straightforward mechanism to address this issue. Under the new measure, companies will withhold 10% of the dividend at the point of payment, immediately remitting it to the government. The remaining 8.75% is collected when shareholders file their annual income tax returns. For local residents, existing enforcement tools like assessments and liens help ensure compliance, but for non-residents, this upfront withholding is crucial to secure at least a portion of the tax due.

This mechanism is similar to how wage tax is handled; employers deduct tax directly from employees’ salaries, ensuring compliance and reducing the administrative burden of collection. Implementing the same principle for dividends helps Sint Maarten address compliance inequities and improve overall tax collection.

Addressing the Challenge of Non-Resident Shareholders

Non-resident shareholders represent a specific challenge for tax enforcement. Unlike residents, they often operate outside the reach of Sint Maarten’s tax authorities. When dividends are paid out and taxes are omitted, there’s little recourse to recover the owed amount.

This creates an imbalance where local taxpayers shoulder a disproportionate share of the financial burden, as their taxes are collected regularly and on time, while others may evade their obligations entirely. The dividend withholding tax corrects this imbalance by ensuring that contributions are made upfront, regardless of where a shareholder resides.

For example, consider a company that pays NAf 100,000 in dividends. Under the new system, NAf 10,000 would immediately go to the government through withholding. This proactive approach not only secures revenue but also enhances fairness, as all shareholders—both local and foreign—contribute to the country’s fiscal health.

Building Toward a Sustainable Fiscal Future

Introducing the dividend withholding tax is just one piece of a larger puzzle aimed at creating a more sustainable and equitable fiscal framework for Sint Maarten. The ultimate goal is to reduce reliance on burdensome taxes, such as profit tax and wage tax, which have long been a pain point for businesses and individuals alike.

Gradual Tax Reduction

Reducing profit and wage taxes isn’t just a matter of fairness—it also promotes economic growth. Lower tax rates encourage business investment, create jobs, and strengthen the overall economy. However, these reductions must be implemented carefully, ensuring that lost revenue from one area is offset by gains elsewhere.

The dividend withholding tax serves as a stepping stone in this process. By improving compliance and broadening the tax base, the government can secure the revenue needed to lower other taxes over time responsibly. This balances the immediate need for funding with the long-term vision of a more competitive and business-friendly tax environment.

Compliance and Enforcement

To fully realize the benefits of tax reforms, stronger compliance and enforcement mechanisms are essential. The withholding system is a step in that direction, simplifying the tax collection process and reducing reliance on shareholder honesty.

Additionally, measures like requiring companies to submit annual financial statements provide a layer of accountability. These statements help the tax office verify whether dividends were paid and whether the appropriate taxes were withheld.

For Sint Maarten, adopting modern IT systems to support these initiatives is also vital. Integrating a dividend tax module into the current system will streamline assessments and improve overall efficiency, ensuring that tax reforms are on track for success.

Transparency and Public Engagement

Reforming a tax system isn’t just about changing laws—it’s about building trust and understanding with the public. Open communication and transparency are essential for gaining buy-in from taxpayers and minimizing resistance to new measures.

The introduction of the dividend withholding tax, for example, has sparked questions and, in some cases, misinformation. By clearly explaining how the system works and why it’s necessary, the government can foster an environment of collaboration, where both policymakers and citizens work toward shared goals of fairness and sustainability.

Why Fairness Matters

At its core, the dividend withholding tax is about fairness. Every resident and stakeholder in Sint Maarten benefits from public services, infrastructure, and a stable economy. It’s only right that everyone contributes their fair share to maintain and improve these resources.

Under the current system, wage earners are subject to monthly tax withholdings that range from 12.5% to 47.5%. This ensures a steady flow of revenue for the government but places a significant financial burden on working citizens. Meanwhile, shareholders—many of whom are non-residents—often escape paying taxes on their income.

By implementing a withholding system for dividends, Sint Maarten levels the playing field, ensuring that all contributors are held to the same standard. This not only improves fiscal stability but also reinforces the principle that everyone has a responsibility to support the communities they benefit from.

Closing Thoughts

Tax reforms like the dividend withholding tax represent a necessary shift in how Sint Maarten approaches compliance, fairness, and fiscal sustainability. By addressing long-standing inequities and improving the efficiency of tax collection, the country sets the stage for a more balanced and prosperous future.

However, reforms cannot stop here. Achieving a truly robust fiscal system requires ongoing commitment—not just from policymakers but also from the businesses, residents, and stakeholders who call Sint Maarten home.

Through transparency, incremental changes, and a shared vision for the future, Sint Maarten can turn its tax system into a foundation for economic growth, social equity, and long-term stability. The dividend withholding tax is the beginning of that journey, and with continued focus, the possibilities are endless.

PHILIPSBURG:---  The Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment, and Infrastructure (VROMI) announces the successful completion of emergency landslide stabilization works in Ebenezer Road, a key milestone in improving hillside safety ahead of the peak 2025 hurricane season.

The stabilization intervention addressed a critical landslide threat that emerged following significant soil movement in mid-2024. The situation posed an immediate danger to nearby homes, public infrastructure, and stormwater channels in the area, with blocked drainage posing a heightened risk of flooding to residents of Ebenezer.

This emergency effort follows years of community complaints and safety concerns dating back to 2010, regarding the way the hillside was being excavated. Between 2020 and 2022, the residents of Ebenezer submitted several letters to the Ministry of VROMI about the eroding hill face and the impact of falling soil. The tropical storms in early August 2024 exacerbated the state of erosion, resulting in the collapse of a septic tank and cistern onto properties below, which caused further drain blockage and threatened the complete collapse of the hill face. The situation in the area was worsened by the rains on Saint Martin Day in November 2024, which resulted in severe island-wide flooding.

The Ministry, under the leadership of Minister Patrice Gumbs, finalized the halted three-year tender process for trench cleaning, issuing contracts for regular maintenance in mid-August. To support the operationalization of these contracts and to address the complaints and safety concerns of the residents, the Ministry identified the repairs of the trench and the stabilization of the eroded cliff face as critical. Assessments began at the end of August 2024, were completed in February 2025, and work on the hill face began on March 10^th, 2025.

“This project demonstrates the importance of civil works permits, responsible property development, and sound spatial planning,” said Minister Gumbs. Since its reintroduction in 2021, civil works permits have been irregularly applied. The Ministry began drafting a procedural manual in late 2024 to make clear when and how to apply civil works permits. The Ministry is busy with preparations for external stakeholder review and subsequent implementation.

Key project highlights:

• Emergency works included shotcrete nailed wall construction, slope anchoring, and the clearing and restoration of the public drainage trench.
• The solution, with proper maintenance, has a significant lifespan and allows for natural revegetation (greening) of the hill face.
• The stabilization was completed in just under three months, ahead of peak storm activity.
• The project was executed by AcrobatX, one of the few specialized geotechnical contractors operating in our subregion..
• This intervention underscores the government's proactive approach to climate adaptation and infrastructure resilience.
• The residents of the area are now safer and better protected against erosion, landslides, and flash flooding.

This intervention was prioritized over other areas, due to the urgency highlighted by last year’s tropical storms and erosion-induced structural collapses that were a risk to not only homes but lives as well. Further along the hill face, a secondary intervention is planned, which, once completed, will involve fixing the Ebenezer trench. This trench drains water from the hills of South Reward through all of Dutch Cul-de Sac and down to the Philipburg basin. One resident offered the following quote: “In the 15 years I’ve lived here, I’ve never seen the total length of this trench maintained and cleaned. This is big step towards this”

The company that took on the task of remedying the catastrophe, AcrobatX, listed some of the following reasons as the causes of the landslide:

• Attempting to enlarge the properties using backfill without any proper reinforcement (since granodiorite (a type of rock in parts of the area) is very easy to dig and changes to the texture of sand under weight)
• Subsurface water circulation is due to the lack of proper drainage built into the retaining wall. This increased the pressure, initiating the landslides.

Julien Ripert, the CEO of ACROBAT X (special works) & Rocks & Risks (geotechnical study office) stated that “I am glad to see that following my presentation to the Members of Parliament in 2022, there is now a strong will to make Sint Maarten  better in the area of enhanced construction regulation and in this scope to manage better the geotechnical context of construction.”

The Ministry has submitted a request to include a dedicated landslide mitigation line in the national budget to support similar critical interventions moving forward. “We are committed to identifying and addressing other high-risk areas across the country, not just reactively, but through sustained, forward-thinking policies.” Minister Gumbs explained.

Residents are thanked for their continued cooperation and are encouraged to remain vigilant as the hurricane season progresses.