POND ISLAND–Closer ties are expected to develop between St. Maarten’s Tax Office and that of the Caribbean Netherlands (CN), based in Bonaire. This collaboration will include a personnel exchange programme and promotion of idea-sharing to enhance service level and knowledge.
This comes after Finance Minister Perry Geerlings recently met with Nichalin Martina, Director of Tax Office B/CN which covers the tax administration of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, also referred to as the BES islands. Their meeting centred on challenges and opportunities for St. Maarten as it undergoes the revamping of its Tax Administration.
B/CN has made substantial progress in upgrading and restructuring its Tax Administration since 10-10-10, and can be a vital partner in helping the local Tax Office, according to a press statement from the Minister’s Cabinet.
A B/CN team recently completed a quick scan of the local Tax Office as part of the process to improve its functionality. Amongst the plans for improving the local Tax Office’s services are making more procedures electronic and reducing the need for clients to visit the Tax Department.
Geerlings and Martina focused on B/CN’s model that includes the Customs Department. Geerlings said the talk with Martina further strengthens his position that the Customs Department would be a valuable asset in the improvement of tax collection if it falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance.
Martina’s report about the benefits of the Customs Department in improving the accuracy and efficiency of data collection was also discussed in the meeting.
Geerlings re-emphasised in the meeting his vision to provide his ministry and the Tax Department with the means to receive an accurate accounting of what comes into the country and said this is essential to improving efficiency in tax collection and producing more accurate budgets.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/80975-closer-ties-expected-between-cn-st-maarten-tax-offices
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