Honourable Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto, forwarded a letter dated March 14, 2011 to the President of Parliament Hon. Gracita Arrindell in response to a letter from National Alliance (NA) Honourable Member of Parliament (MP) George Pantophlet dated February 28, 2011.
The letter from the President of Parliament was dated March 10, 2011 and had attached the letter from Hon. MP George Pantophlet which was received by the Cabinet of the Minister of Finance on March 10, 2011.
Hon. MP George Pantophlet posed 12 questions related to former Netherlands Antilles debit payments; taxes owed by former Pelican Resort Owners; borrowing potential of the Government; how much is owed to Government in back taxes; dividend payments; and debt relief from the Dutch Government.
MP George Pantophlet: What is the name of the person on Curacao the Minister contacted who is responsible for the disbursing of some Naf.60 million to creditors of the former Netherlands Antilles?
Minister: The name of the contact person in Curacao is Jose Jardin, former Director of Finance.
MP George Pantophlet: How much of the Naf.60 million has already been paid to the creditors of the former Netherlands Antilles?
Minister: Presently up to and including February 21, 2011, Naf.1,716,003 has been paid out directly to the creditors of the former Netherlands Antilles on behalf of the Island Territory Sint Maarten.
MP George Pantophlet: If none of the Naf.60 million was disbursed as yet, on what account has it been placed and if it is accruing interest, who benefits from this?
Minister: See answer above.
MP George Pantophlet: Who from Sint Maarten has insight into this account to ensure that the funds are allocated properly?
Minister: Since this is not an account of Sint Maarten, no one from Sint marten has insight into it. However, the SOAB is controlling the account along with the Central Bank.
MP George Pantophlet: How much is owed to government in taxes by the former Pelican Resort Owners and over what period?
Minister: This information is confidential and cannot be disclosed without the consent of the owners.
MP George Pantophlet: With regards to the transfer of US$1.2 million how many checks are we talking about 1 or several?
Minister: With regards to the transfer tax of US$1.2 million, we are talking about several checks.
MP George Pantophlet: How much funds can the government of Sint Maarten borrow at this time?
Minister: At this time, SOAB is busy compiling data for the collective sector of Sint Maarten. Once this is done and approved by the Central Bureau of Statistics, the income of the collective sector of Sint Maarten can be established which would then be used to determine the interest norm for the collective sector. After this process is complete and the information is available then this question can be answered. However, Sint Maarten can only borrow within its interest norm as stipulated in the Rijkswet Financieel Toezicht Curacao en Sint Maarten.
MP George Pantophlet: How much funds was borrowed from the Dutch Government?
Minister: Sint Maarten initially owned the Dutch Government Naf.295,108,460.61 and a bond was issued via the Central Bank on October 21, 2010 to pay off said amount.
MP George Pantophlet: How much funds is owed to the Dutch Government and when will repayment start?
Minister: Interest on the bond issuance is due annually and the first principal payment is due in October 2020.
MP George Pantophlet: How much funds are owed in back taxes to the Government of Sint Maarten prior to 2006?
Minister: The exact amount is not known as some of the debts in Government’s database are assessments.
MP George Pantophlet: An amount of Naf.5 million in dividends was mentioned to balance the 2011 budget, which company is these funds coming from?
Minister: These funds are anticipated from the PJIAE NV.
MP George Pantophlet: From the Naf.188 million allocated by the Dutch Government for debt relief invoices totalling; Naf.40 million was sent for approval to the Dutch Government. We would like to know if a response was received?
Minister: The amount allocated by the Dutch Government for debt relief was Naf.183 million and no response has been received thus far from the office of Minister J.P.H. Donner.