Philipsburg:--- Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt told reporters on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' weekly press briefing that the Christmas bonus payments for civil servants will be made as of Wednesday. Tuitt apologized for the late payment but said it is better late than never and that the payments will be taken from the 2012 budget.
In responding to questions regarding the Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) for teachers and other civil servants, Tuitt said he is busy trying to balance the 2013 budget where he was forced to make cuts in various Ministries to the tune of 25 million guilders for the CFT to approve the budget so that it can be sent to the Parliament of St. Maarten for its approval. Tuitt said if the union (WITU) could tell him where to find the additional 20 million that it cost the government of St. Maarten to make the COLA payments he would gladly do it. He said right now the government of St. Maarten is busy conducting a worldwide research to see how these adjustments are being applied so they can apply the same measures on St. Maarten.
Speaking on the 2013 budget, Tuitt said that cuts were made but the government of St. Maarten added two new items that would increase revenues. Those two new items are to add taxes to diesel which was never done in the past and to add an additional 1% on transfer tax. Tuitt said the transfer tax stands at 4% and the intention of government is to increase it by 1%, this additional taxation will affect real estates.
Government to Start Court Case against Kingdom Government on Debt Relief.
Tuitt also announced on Wednesday that the Council of Ministers has taken an unanimous decision to start a court case against the Kingdom Government regarding the debt relief that was agreed upon prior to the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles.
The Finance Minister said that the Kingdom Government is saying that because the former Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto did not submit certain documents then they are not going to live up to the agreement that was signed between the Kingdom Government, St. Maarten, and Curacao. He said that in the same Kingdom law the CFT was included and it is impossible for the Kingdom Government to use that against St. Maarten even though there is an agreement.
The Finance Minister said he cannot say if the case will be dealt with in the Netherlands or on St. Maarten. He told reporters that the lawyers will decide where to file the case in the interest of St. Maarten
Expired Taxes will be written off --- Taxes owed from 2006 and before will be written off.
The Finance Minister also announced that the government of St. Maarten will be writing off all old taxes dating back to 2006 and before. Tuitt said that he consulted with six lawyers inside and outside of government in order to ensure that the process is done in accordance with the law. Tuitt further explained that the process took longer that was expected but government wanted to ensure that everything is done correctly. He said that he has the authority to issue a decree which would authorize the tax office to write off the taxes even though the law on this procedure is not fully completed. The Finance Minister made clear that the law states that government cannot collect taxes that are older than five years so what they are doing now is to erase expired taxes so that businesses and residents can pay the taxes they owe to government now. The writing off he said will be done in two phases which means that he will issue a decree instructing the tax office that they are not to deal with taxes from 2006 and before. He said the amounts might be in the billions but that does not mean anything because the taxes are already expired and it cannot be collected anyway.
TAXAND final report soon to be ready.
The Finance Minister said just last week he submitted his reactions to the SOAB on the draft report they submitted on the TAXAND scandal. Tuitt said that he is expecting the final report in one week and the it will be discussed in the Council of Ministers prior to it being sent to Parliament and made public for the people to see what took place. When asked by SMN News if there were any criminal offenses committed during the TAXAND deal involving the former Minister of Finance, Tuitt said he is not a lawyer or prosecutor but when the report is made public the Prosecutor's Office will determine if a crime was committed. The current Finance Minister did confirm that government rules were broken when the TAXAND contract was awarded to Judith Brewster.
Bridge to Nowhere will hurt small man.
The Finance Minister Roland Tuitt also responded to an article that was written by Member of Parliament Ruth Douglass who said she is proud of her leader who had the vision for the causeway (bridge to nowhere) and that she would also be happy when she drives over that bridge. Tuitt said that he wants the Member of Parliament to know that the causeway (bridge to nowhere) is hurting the small man because the cost of the project is thrown on the shoulders of the small man. Tuitt said because of the bridge basic necessities on St. Maarten increased and even when he has to drive over that bridge it will hurt him because he too has to pay for the causeway.