WILLEMSTAD - Make the city center tax-free, then the tourists buy more and Punda will flourish again. That point is often raised in discussions.
Since October last year, it has been possible for middle-class business owners to sell their products sales tax free. The business owners in Punda can also make use of this opportunity.
But the interest is low, and there were so many uncertainties with the introduction of the law that business owners who did use it did not even know whether they followed procedures properly.
“All in all, there is little interest in selling sales tax-free in Punda,” says the director of the Downton Management Organization Carin Ghazi.