On Tuesday, a delegation from Saba consisting of Commissioner Bruce Zagers, Island Secretary Menno van der Velde, and Pro-bono Advisor Will Johnson left Saba to attend tax discussions on Bonaire. The discussions will surround amendments made to the proposed third draft of the tax laws for the BES islands.
Based on very clear instructions from the Ministry of Finance in Holland, this documentation that is being discussed is still of a confidential nature. Being such, it cannot be divulged to the public until there is some certainty of a final draft. Since 2007 there has been three different variations of the tax law which were all different from one another. This variation will be the fourth.
Commissioner Bruce Zagers stated to GIS, "Since my tenure in 2007 as Commissioner of Finance, this is the fourth variation of the proposed tax law presented to the BES islands. I understand the stance of the Ministry of Finance by not divulging this information, because it will only cause undue stress to the community. There are still a lot of options open on the table for discussions so this is by no means a final documentation agreed upon between the BES islands."
Zagers went on to say that "this delegation brings a wealth of experience to the table and will fight for the best interest of Saba and it’s population. The people of Saba can be rest assured that this delegation will defend the stance of Saba and will do its best to assure that the tax system is fair and realistic for Saba".
Zagers understands that the people in the community are concerned about the uncertainty of the new tax laws. "The community should also realize that no island or country can function without a well working tax structure. The reality is that the tax Department has not functioned adequately for many years and because of this, many entities have grown used to somewhat of a "tax free land"."
Over the past few decades some people have gotten away with not paying taxes, however, the proposed system will focus more on indirect taxes rather than direct taxes. Therefore, the tax burden gets shared amongst the community rather than individual entities.
Source: Saba Government Information Services – gis@sabagov.com