Philipsburg:--- Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt announced on Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' weekly press briefing that he is still working on balancing the final draft 2013 budget which has a deficit of 29 million guilders. Minister Tuitt said that he is hoping to finalize the 2013 draft budget by Friday this week which will he submit to the CFT and Council of Advice before sending it over to Parliament for approval. The Finance Minister said he is trying hard to have the budget dealt with in Parliament before the Christmas recess.
One way the Minister of Finance is looking into to collect more revenues is to offer incentives to businesses that are not paying their share of taxes. Minister Tuitt said that his Ministry is focusing heavily on tax compliance and if the businesses respond accordingly then St. Maarten would be able to balance its budget without any hardships. Tuitt said because the government placed heavy focus on the compliance of taxes they already have six million guilders more than they had last year. The intention he said is to be able to cover 10 million in tax collection next year. The Finance Minister said government is busy putting certain tools in place to further increase the tax compliance. Tuitt also issued a stronger appeal to the businesses on St. Maarten to comply with his request and pay their dues. Tuitt said that his Ministry is willing to put incentives for businesses for the month of December 2012 for those businesses that show interest in paying their taxes. He said government is willing to waive the penalties that were placed on businesses who did not comply and pay their taxes over the past years. Another step the government is trying to take is to collect its dividends from the Central Bank and to privatize the granting of scholarships that are given to students annually. Tuitt said government gives out over Naf. 4 million annually on scholarships. The Finance Minister said the idea is to place the scholarships in a fund that would be tasked with collecting the monies past (old) students owes the government. He said over time this fund will become self-sufficient and government would no longer have to contribute to it or budget for it. Tuitt said there is one worrisome item in the budget and that is the debt ceiling that St. Maarten has. The Finance Minister made clear that this is one topic he intends to discuss with the Government of the Netherlands. Tuitt said when the calculations are done St. Maarten would be in a position to borrow as much as 620 million guilders.
The Finance Minister also announced on Wednesday that the government of St. Maarten is considering levying more taxes on the sale of alcohol and tobacco. He said St. Maarten is not the only country heading in this direction because the State of France already implemented laws to add more taxes on the sale of alcohol and tobacco.
The Minister of Finance also intends to meet with the various casinos on the island to inform them that government is also contemplating the implementation of Turn over Tax (TOT) on casinos. Those meetings the Minister of Finance said are scheduled to take place next week.
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