Island Receiver’s Office
closing in on defaulters
~ Summonses served starting October 1 ~
PHILIPSBURG--Persons who are in arrears with their land taxes, licence fees and other taxes should expect a visit from a marshal before the end of the year.
The Island Receiver’s Office is cracking down on defaulters as of this month to collect the millions owed to the Island Government. Some 10 uniformed marshals started visiting defaulters from Monday, October 1, serving them summonses to pay up in two days or visit the Receiver’s Office to make payment arrangements. Those who fail to do so risk having liens placed on their assets.
Island Receiver Sherry Hazel told The Daily Herald the controls would target specific areas over the next three months.
This month, the Receiver’s Office is targeting persons who have leased government land and are behind in paying for their leases. Some 3,500 persons are estimated to be in this category, owing a total of some NAf. 2.5million. The arrears date back to 2001.
Head Marshal Michael Bremer said the crackdown on delinquent land tax payers would be done by districts, starting with Pointe Blanche, then St. Peters/South Reward/Saunders, followed by Simpson Bay and other areas.
As of November, the Receiver’s Office will crack down on holders of all types of licences, including casino, business, hotel, restaurant, liquor (wholesale and retail), coffee house, vending and directors’ licences.
Some 17 million guilders in arrears is owed to government in this area, some 11 million guilders in business licence fees alone, Hazel said. The amount owed dated back to 2001. “It’s an operational cost. Just like paying your utility bills, people should pay their licence fees,” said Hazel.
Holders of most licences pay an annual fee, while holders of casino and vending licences pay a monthly fee.
From December to March the Receiver’s Office will control all types of taxes: road tax, rental tax, room tax, timeshare tax, wage tax, income tax and profit taxes.
Hazel said controls had been done throughout the year, but her office was focusing on these specific areas over the next three months to clear out the backlog and make people who owed pay up.
In addition to the amount owed, some defaulters will also have to pay an additional cost to cover the marshal’s fees, set at one per cent of the amount owed with a minimum of NAf. 20 and a maximum of NAf. 5,000.
“The marshals are there to serve summonses on people who are negligent. In the summonses, they will be told that they have to pay within two days and if they don’t pay within this period, the next step will be to put a lien on their assets. We have a listing and we will be going from door to door,” she said.
Without giving details, she said the Island Receiver was on track with its collection for this year and expected to meet its target by the end of the calendar year. In the 2007 budget, government projects NAf. 203 million in revenues. “The collection is going fairly well, but we have to make people aware of the fact that they have to be on time with their payments,” said Hazel. “Persons billed for land tax between January and September should have paid up already.”
Persons who had difficulty paying their bills, she said, should feel free to visit the office, meet with one of the collection officers and work out payment plans. She said it was important for people to settle their bills, as government depended on the revenue to carry out its programmes.
Head of Collection Minerva Wout expressed similar sentiments. “Clients can feel free to come in and see the collection officers for whatever problems they have.” (Judy H. Fitzpatrick)
