~ Exco reportedly had faulty figures ~
PHILIPSBURG--The NAf. 24.3 million projected by the Executive Council to fill the deficit in the 2010 budget through the collection of back taxes is not collectable.
The Daily Herald has learned that Commissioner of Finance Xavier Blackman has reports indicating that only NAf. 2.5 million can be collected for the period 2004-2007. The Commissioner had indicated that NAf. 14.4 million could be collected this year. Also, only NAf. 90,000 can be collected from 2008, not NAf. 4 million as was mentioned by the commissioner.
The Island Receiver estimated that between 2004 and 2007 a number of companies had not paid the amount of wage tax they had withheld from workers, totalling some NAf. 14.4 million, and another NAf. 4 million for 2008.
It is further understood that the Executive Council had received erroneous tax figures from the Central Government Tax Department and had been informed of this in a report from the Island Receiver.
However, it could not be clarified whether the commissioner and the Executive Council knew of the reported erroneous figures before or after the budget was submitted to the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT with what now appear to be faulty calculations.
For its part, CFT had expressed doubt about the amount of back taxes the Island Government had dubbed collectable. CFT said it could not be determined whether the NAf. 18.4 million was collectable, because the assessments could still be challenged by the taxpayers. Also, it was possible that some companies that had been assessed no longer existed and the amounts owed by them would not be collectable.
Commissioner Blackman maintained that reports he had, prepared by the Inspectorate of Taxes, indicated that the amounts mentioned were indeed collectable and said by no means would "new taxes be placed on the people of the island."
After failing to obtain copies of these reports in the Island Council, Democratic Party (DP) Island Councilman Roy Marlin promptly submitted a request for a copy of the reports under the Law on Open Governance (Landsverordening Openbaarheid van Bestuur P.B. 1995 nr. 221) Article 7, 1a. He still has not received the reports.
In the meantime, the Executive Council, in its letter to CFT of May 4, indicated that the 2010 budget had been cut across the board to the tune of NAf. 30,640,240. Of this amount, NAf. 14,740,240 is expected to be saved from budget cuts and NAf. 13 million realised from an increase in the turnover tax from three per cent to four per cent.
The Executive Council believes the turnover tax can be increased as early as June 1. It said the increase had already been discussed with the Central Government and there was agreement on increasing it as expected.
As additional income for 2010, the Executive Council mentions NAf. 6.2 million with the transfer of tasks for Bureau Telecommunications and Post, and Education, Health Care, Sports and Culture.
Every government department received budget cuts, to reduce the budget deficit. Notable cuts were approximately NAf. 2 million in Tourism, more than NAf. 1 million in garbage collection and more than NAf. 1 million in maintenance for public schools. The areas cut generally had unused budget surpluses from 2009.
