There is in itself nothing wrong with the Island Government going after businesses that did not pay enough wage tax for their employees from 2005 to 2008. Whether the current budget problem is a justifiable reason to do so now and if this exercise actually can produce 40 million guilders as reportedly intended is another matter, of course.

What's worse, the people of St. Maarten were told not too long ago that as many as half the active companies registered on the island don't even have a so-called CRIB number needed to pay taxes and apparently are getting away with it. The statement came from no less than the Chamber of Commerce and has not been contradicted so far.

There also has been no indication that government, more specifically the tax authorities are doing anything about this gross injustice and simply unacceptable situation. What now threatens to happen is that bona fide local businesses that comply with their tax obligations, but perhaps not to the extent necessary, will be punished while those that don't meet their fiscal responsibilities at all continue to get off scot-free – or at least that's the impression.

So before embarking on an operation to tighten the screws on companies that were found to have paid too little, government should indicate what it plans to do with this apparent flagrant discrepancy when it comes to fiscal compliance. Not doing so while placing an extra burden on businesses that pay at least some tax would make a playing field that is already not level even more slanted towards those who choose to circumvent the law and evade their civic duty at the expense of society in general.

If what the Chamber of Commerce claimed is not true, somebody should come out and say so. If it is, that's obviously where the priority should be when it comes to generating more income for government.