Member of Parliament George Pantophlet says that government is indeed hitting the ground running. The reduction of the price of gasoline and the future plans to deal with the propane gas and Gebe fuel clauses are on stream.
He is looking forward to stricter controls with regard to prices in the supermarkets because bringing these essential components under control will surely increase the purchasing power of the consumers. What is also important is adding more products to the list of basic items. This will be discussed with the Minister of Economic Affairs and tourism Mr. Romeo Pantophlet who is presently abroad. He will also inquire as to the progress on the Casino Gaming Board. The member said he had a discussion with the Minister of Finance Mr. Roland Tuitt with whom he brought up the subject of the dividends. As one can remember the question was posed by the Member of Parliament to the former Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto as to why government owned companies were not paying dividends to the shareholders (people of St. Maarten). Mr. Shigemoto had promised to look into the matter of establishing a committee but this never materialized. The Member of Parliament was assured by Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt that a committee will be set up to look into the possibilities. Just recently in a report the Committee for Financial Supervision had stated that based on the last financial reports of the government owned companies, they are healthy and they see no reason why these government owned companies can’t contribute by paying dividends into the government coffers. To be clear this will be in addition to the concession fees already being paid by some of these companies. Another matter discussed with the Minister was the procedures on tax collections. Apparently government can withhold one third of your salary and do so without informing the tax payer. The Member of Parliament is looking into how this law can be amended. The right to withhold the taxes owed is no problem but the person should be informed beforehand. He can imagine what happens to the people who are confronted with this and especially those in the low income bracket. What was also discussed were the outstanding casino related fees of some 25.9 million guilders since 2001. It appears that there are court litigations ongoing. The Minister promised to also look into this matter. The Member of Parliament feels that it is not right for millions to be owned by these companies who by the way don’t pay Turnover Tax, while personal taxes are being withheld left right and center. Even the pensioners are not spared. What he did not discussed as it only came up during a discourse with someone later on is the issue of the gold reserves. St. Maarten needs to know that its share is secured. Telling us it is there is not enough we need to see it. The Member of Parliament plans to meet with all the other Ministers to get a sense of how they are progressing. They have their responsibilities and he has his as we all should be hitting the ground running.