PHILIPSBURG:--- The 2014 budget which must be presented to the Parliament of St. Maarten by December 15th, 2013 has been delayed for a few days, announced Minister of Finance Martin Hassink at the Council of Ministers' press briefing on Wednesday.
The Minister of Finance told reporters that his Ministry cannot meet the deadline of December 15th, 2013 but said that if possible the presentation can be done on December 19th and 20th. The Finance Minister further explained that if those dates are not available then the presentation would be made on January 13th and 14th, 2014. Hassink said he already informed the CFT about the delay and according to him the CFT understands the situation.
Minister Hassink said the 2014 budget stands at 427 million guilders, seven million more than what the CFT advised government to have for the 2014 budget. When asked by SMN News reporter if the CFT is in agreement with the excess figures, Minister Hassink said the 420 million that was suggested by the CFT was just an estimate and the CFT is asking government to provide proof to show that the Government of St. Maarten has more income.
The Finance Minister said the bad news on the 2014 budget is that the various ministries would have to do more in cutting their costs, while several projects cannot be executed because they are not budgeted. One of the projects that fell through the cracks is the "Justice Park" that the former Minister of Justice was busy putting together. Minister Hassink said that there is no money budgeted for the justice park so for sure that project is shelved for now. When asked by SMN News which of the seven Ministry came up with the Naf. 300,000.00 for the integrity committee installed by the Government of St. Maarten, the Minister of Finance said that monies were taken from all seven Ministries for the integrity investigation commissioned by the Government of St. Maarten to take place. He said part of the monies came from the 2013 budget and another part from the 2014 budget. Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams clarified that the Naf. 300,000.00 is just a figure that was budgeted for the project and that is not the final figure.
The Minister of Finance explained that currently the operational cost is set at 319 million guilders, there is 2 million guilder deficit. He also stated that St. Maarten is hindered because the country is not allowed to borrow monies. Personnel costs he said stands at 135 million, social expenses 33 million, subsidies 58 million while the liquidity for 2011 stands at 84 million.
Controls Done to Collect Road Tax for 2013.
The Minister of Finance confirmed that currently road controls are being conducted by the police and the controllers at CIB to fine drivers who are in default with their 2013 road tax payment. Minister Hassink said in response to a question posed by SMN News reporter that it is disappointing for government because he does not believe that the Government of St. Maarten would be able to collect the full 1.3 million in road tax fees that is still outstanding. He also confirmed the necessary legislation to impose a Naf. 350 fine for persons that did not pay their road tax on time is already in place.
BES Islands Still wants TOT Elimination in order for them to work with St. Maarten.
The Finance Minister also announced that he asked the Netherlands and the BES islands to assist St. Maarten in upgrading the Tax Office on St. Maarten. Minister Hassink said that the person he met with agreed to give St. Maarten the assistance they need but they applied conditions. The main condition is for St. Maarten to remove the Turn Over Tax (TOT) that is levied on goods and items sold on St. Maarten and taken to the BES Islands. Minister Hassink said he informed his counterparts that St. Maarten will look into that possibility and if it is possible that will be done. "We have to see how much this will hurt St. Maarten financially and if it's too much then we would have to forget the idea of assistance from the Dutch to upgrade the tax system on St. Maarten.