PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — In a letter to Minister of Finance, the Hon. Ardwell Iron, Member of Parliament Grisha Heyliger-Marten submitted five questions regarding the granting of tax holidays and/or other fiscal concessions by the Government of St. Martin since it took office in 2020.
In her letter dated September 15th, 2023, Heyliger-Marten posed the following questions to the Minister:
- How many requests for tax holidays and/or any (other) fiscal concession(s) have been received by the Government during the current governing term (February 2020 to the present day)?
- How many of these requests were granted, if any?
- If any requests were granted, who were they granted to, and what was the reason/legal basis for such?
- Does Government currently have a policy related to tax holidays and/or any (other) fiscal concessions?
- If such a policy exists, is it applicable only to foreign investors/companies, or also for locals?
“In light of the Government’s ongoing tax reform plans, or rather “tax improvement” plans as the Minister of Finance has labelled the changes to the tax system, it is important to get an idea of what Government’s actions and policies have been and currently are with regards to tax holidays and other fiscal incentives”, Heyliger-Marten stated in a press release on Sunday evening.
“These types of incentives can be “double edge swords”. If applied correctly, they can benefit the country, but if not, they can do more harm than good. I therefore look forward to Parliament receiving the answers from the Minister of Finance in accordance with article 69a of the rules of order of Parliament’, Heyliger-Marten concluded.
