PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — On Thursday September 22nd 2022, the Leader of the US Party Mrs. Pamela Gordon-Carty accompanied by party President Mr. Cecil Nicholas and Secretary Mr. Khalil Revan presented a new law to curb the high rate of unemployment amongst young people to the Chairlady of Parliament MP Grisha Heyliger Marten.
The US Party Leader Mrs. Pamela Gordon-Carty continues to fulfil her promise by submitting laws to parliament despite not having representation in parliament after expelling MP Chanel Brownbill from the party.
“This is the third law that the US Party has submitted to parliament in recent months and it shows our commitment to improving the lives of the people in country St. Maarten,” said Gordon-Carty.
The proposed law will focus on recent college graduates and students seeking employment for the first time. The goal is to lower the unemployment rate among young people and give incentives to businesses that hire young adults.
“As a business owner for over 26 years and as an Accountant and Tax expert, I have a good understanding of the challenges faced by businesses on St. Maarten,” said Gordon-Carty. “As business owners we are facing challenging times, but we are also strong contributors to the well-being of the country. Unemployment contributes to the deterioration of the country’s social fabric and places added pressure on families and government. This proposed law will alleviate some of that pressure by incentivizing businesses through tax breaks, a win-win for everybody.”
“The proposed law entails that all businesses on country St. Maarten from large to small (excluding micro) be subjected to a yearly mandatory quota of hiring a first time youngster between the ages of 18 to 26 that is unemployed, or a recent graduate whether on island or coming home from studying abroad. As an incentive businesses that comply will be able to declare 35% of the young adult’s annual salary as a ‘donation’ and get reimbursed. Functions that require a particular expertise is also included as long as the young employee is a graduate in that area and was born on St. Maarten,” continued Gordon-Carty.
Gordon-Carty thanked the public for their continued support and encourage them to continue to interact with her party as it goes a long way in helping them to prioritize and focus on submitting laws that can have immediate and long term impactful effects on their daily lives as well as improve social conditions in the country. The business community were also encouraged and invited to interact with the party via its Facebook page United St. Maarten Party to express their sentiments and share constructive advice. “It is time for us to seek solutions together in order to secure a bright future for the country,” concluded Gordon-Carty.
