Only 3,500 persons
have paid road tax
MARIGOT--With only about ten days to go until the May 16 deadline to pay the French side road tax, cashiers at the Galisbay payment centre revealed approximately 3,500 people have paid the tax so far, leaving a vast number of citizens still to pay their dues.
According to assistant manager of the road tax collection service Liliane Hodge-Romney, 22,000 road tax stickers had been ordered, plus another 200 for motorbikes, and only 20 of those motorcycle owners have come in to pay.
“Compared to how it was in the beginning when people were just trickling in, the last two weeks have gone much better, but apart from the population, there are still a lot of car rental companies, some Government officials, and staff from the Collectivité that still have to pay,” said Hodge-Romney.
Staff could be in for a very busy week if the flood gates open. On the other hand, payments will be further delayed by the public holidays, starting tomorrow with Veterans Day and Pentecost on Monday.
Persons who have not paid the road tax by May 16 will be subject to fines issued by the Gendarmerie and Territorial Police. Fines could be imposed as early as May 19.
Despite being approved by the Territorial Council on November 21, introduction of the road tax hit a setback when a Citizens Movement argued the principles behind implementing the tax were unjust and subsequently has been trying to persuade citizens not to pay the tax. The movement also submitted a petition to Government calling for a revision of the tax.
In a release issued yesterday, President Louis-Constant Fleming accused certain elements of the population of confusing the minds of St. Martiners over the road tax issue. The tax, he stressed, is legal.
Fleming urged the population to pay the tax as soon as possible, adding that he considered doing so a “civic and patriotic duty.”
