The tax obstacles for the transit of freight between Curacao and the Dutch Caribbean will soon be history. No later than November 1st 2012 import duties or other tax barriers no longer have to be paid for freight that is brought into one county and intended for another country.
State secretary Weekers of Finance and minister of Finance Jamaloodin of Curacao undersigned the agreement today in The Hague, in order to prevent double tax in specific situations with transboundary movement of freight.
Agreements were made about the possibility of applying (administrative) custom or trade and service warehouses, in which freight can be stored tax free, awaiting its final destination. Also agreements were made about tax free transit from Curacao to the Dutch Caribbean and vice versa and about tax free export from one country to the other.
The transit or export from one country to the other has to be proved by the interested party. Abuse can be prevented as much as possible by a proper exchange of information between both tax administrations and custom services.
Weekers is very pleased with this agreement: "I count on it that the elimination of Curacao taxes on Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius will lead to price reductions and that both citizens and businesses will benefit from this."