LETTER TO THE EDITOR.
A GOOD NAME & REPUTATION.
St. Maarten, this is Michael Ferrier. I have been accused of not having paid taxes by two members of parliament. In my former capacity as Minister of Finance, I have repeatedly called on all citizens to pay their fair share of taxes. I therefore need to emphatically make the following clear: Mike Ferrier nor any company he presently owns and manages, owes outstanding taxes, that he is aware of. I am associated in a voluntary advisory capacity with a limited liability company called “The Sint Maarten Shipyard N.V.”, of which the management, in an ongoing effort to keep the company afloat, has made business decisions with regards to which bills to pay and which ones should wait for improved cash-flow. Included in the ones that did not get paid from time to time, were some related to rent for the property the company leases from its landlord, government. Rent, nothing to do with taxes!!
Let me repeat: This Michael Ferrier DOES NOT owe government any taxes as far as I am aware of. I continuously try to lead by example. I pay all the taxes my accountants tell me to pay, and I promptly settle all of my bills and those of the companies I manage on a day-to-day basis. I do not take advantage of others and I subscribe to helping those in need. I have in almost 49 years of doing business on St. Maarten never once failed to pay my employees on time, despite some horrible business years in the past.
Do I make mistakes? Yes, I do. Do I bully, steal or misappropriate funds that do not belong to me? No, I don’t.
I am one of those that was born to be on St. Maarten; proud of the way I have lived my life to-date and grateful for the opportunities the Good Lord and this island have afforded me. However, nothing is more important to me than my good name and reputation. I have spent a lifetime building those, by being of good will and putting service above self. St. Maarten has been good to me and I believe I do my share to be good to St. Maarten. Maybe someday we can respect each other enough and “come together as one”.
I thank you.
Michael J. Ferrier St. Maarten, July 7, 2019