Member of Parliament George Pantophlet says government should hastily pursuit the increasing of the fees from the casinos and lottery establishments. The amendment to these ordinances which are between 15 to 20 years old should be worked on posthaste.
There was no delay in increasing the turnover tax from 3 to 5%. And no discussions were held with the affected stakeholders prior to government taking this decision. The casinos and the lottery establishments don’t pay turnover tax, I don’t know if they pay income tax. But government has no idea what these money making entities generate in revenues annually. The amount of 8 million guilders casinos pay in fees on an annual business dwarfs in what other businesses and workers pay in taxes, 33 to 47% of their salaries& wages. We should not continue these crippling tax percentages but ask that the casinos pay an annual fee of 15 million guilders which represents 12% of their collective annual income based on the WODC report of 125 million guilders. We have no idea what the lottery business generates in revenue but recommend that it be doubled to 3 million guilders which I think is reasonable. If they have objections then open the books by allowing an independent study of their financial affairs over the last 5 years. Again it is imperative that government makes it a priority to get the casino gaming board in place. Another sector which is flying under the radar is the matter of the condominium fees, where is the ordinance? This matter has to be brought back to the forefront. There are owners generating millions but government does not benefit from this. And how can we forget that government always boasting about having over one million persons coming in on the cruise ships annually. We can charge $1, per person and this can go to the maintenance of sporting facilities and our roads. We can also look at installing parking meters which he sure was suggested in the past. Of course it will mean changes to the traffic ordinance to make this possible. Also the possibilities of having to pay a toll fee which should be placed at the border between the French and Dutch side, needless to say this will call for serious discussions and involves legislation on both sides of the island.