PHILIPSBURG–The business community has expressed concern about the decision by the management of the Receiver’s Office to eliminate the use of cheques as a form of payment and is calling for this decision to be immediately revisited.
“Like it or not, St. Maarten’s predominant tool for financial exchange is still a paper cheque. To restrict its use is hindering the economy and increasing the cost of doing business,” the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), Indian Merchants Association (IMA) and the St. Maarten Timeshare Association (SMTA) said in a joint press release on Tuesday.
“Once again, the government enacts a knee-jerk reaction which succeeds in punishing those that comply without affecting those that don’t. If such a drastic measure were necessary, it would make sense to at least consult with the clients of the Receiver in order to mitigate negative impacts for all parties, instead of unilaterally making such a far-reaching change.”
The groups said all other payment alternatives being offered by the Receiver will in fact force businesses to settle their monthly tax debt earlier than it is due by law, because payments will have to be negotiated in advance for a payment receipt to be submitted with the declaration.
“SHTA doubts very much that this is legally allowable within the current legislation and certainly not based solely on an announcement by management. Further, we emphasise that our fiscal system is not technologically nor efficiently aligned to deal with a direct bank payment. Businesses have already experienced missing payments, unapplied payments, late fines and penalties because of the date an online payment was entered into the system versus when it was made by the company or when it was received by the Receiver.
“This is unacceptable when by default the payment will have to be made in advance and the business has no control over when it will be posted to the bank or the accounts of the Receiver.”
IMA, SHTA and SMTA said while they recognise the issues caused by bad cheques and insufficient funds payments, the Receiver also has not been timely in processing its deposits, as they have noticed often payments made to the Receiver are not cleared for a number of days. “This in itself can increase the number of bounced cheques as many smaller businesses are operating on a really tight cash flow and are not keeping their administration up-to-date on a daily basis due to cost constraints.
“The bottom line is the economic situation on St. Maarten is deteriorating. Companies are struggling in this period two years post-[Hurricane – Ed.] Irma without any relief or marketing, more than before. If the Receiver cannot assist by making the tax payment process more efficient, they should at least not make it worse,” it was stated in the release.
“We request this be revisited immediately.”
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/91738-business-sector-urges-receiver-to-rethink-not-accepting-cheques
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