WILLEMSTAD - According to the candidate minister of finance in the new Pisas government, one of the first things that he will do is to sign the "Guideline for Tax Collection", which allows tax arrears to be paid off at a discount.
And, from the perspective of the Curaçao government, back taxes can be collected. There is an urgent need for money in the public purse. Because it is empty based on the then most recently available liquidity forecast.
And if no agreement is reached with the Netherlands on new liquidity support for the third quarter, the treasury will become more than empty. Next month, at the end of June, the liquidity deficit will be 83 million guilders. And that increases by 200 million in the third quarter to -283 million at the end of September.
The new coalition is still counting on a deal with the Dutch government, but the MFK has already carried out a "risk analysis", in case there is no financial support from the Netherlands. Says Javier Silvania, who has been nominated as the new minister of the Ministry of Finance.
What alternatives are there to enable the government to continue to meet the most important government obligations? Silvania indicated that as soon as he is in office, he will sign the collection guideline, paving the way for taxpayers to pay their arrears with a hefty discount for two to three months, as stated in the 2021-2025 Coalition Agreement.
In this way, the new Pisas cabinet hopes to have access to cash in the short term, necessary in case no liquidity comes from the Netherlands. Silvania himself gives this example: Someone with a tax debt of 100 guilders, who immediately pays 60, gets 40 forgiven.
"This is one of the alternatives," said the prospective minister. The other is to amend the National Ordinance sales tax (OB), whereby banks are obliged with every swipe transaction to withhold OB and pay it directly to the tax authorities (the Treasury).
Someone with a tax liability of less than a ton (100,000) from the year 2020 and older who pays 60 percent will receive a 40 percent discount. Someone who pays half (50 percent) in one go will receive a discount of 30 percent. And so it goes from 40 percent payment with a 25 percent discount, and further 30-20, 20-15 and 10-10.
Other, lower discount rates apply to tax debts of more than one ton. Direct fulfillment of 70 percent of the outstanding amount results in a discount of 30 percent and with 60 percent payment, 25 percent is waived in this case.
In the event that a taxpayer does not or cannot adhere to a payment arrangement, as far as the new coalition is concerned, a due diligence will be carried out by Tax Accountants Bureau (SBAB), which will inform the Receiver about what, in the opinion of SBAB, could be afforded by the company concerned. Individuals can also enter into payment arrangements. The Government Accountants Bureau (Soab) will periodically check and inform the Ministry of Finance.