SXMElections.com

~ In Energizer tax evasion case ~

PHILIPSBURG--United People's (UP) party Member of Parliament and construction company Energizer NV former director Silvio Matser (48) is facing 24 months in jail, eight of which are to be suspended, with two years' probation and payment of a NAf. 4.5 million fine. The criminal case against the parliamentarian, which involves tax evasion, was heard by a judge on Wednesday.

Matser, who is the owner of Energizer NV, is charged with tax evasion in the amount of almost NAf. 5 million, involving incomplete or non-payment of income tax and social security premiums for workers and turnover tax on behalf of his construction company.

Matser was held and questioned on January 25, 2013, in connection with what was dubbed the first criminal tax investigation by St. Maarten authorities.

The formal charges include tax evasion and forgery of tax returns allegedly committed between January 1, 2006, and October 10, 2010, and alleged tax evasion over the fiscal years 2006 and 2007.

Matser denied the allegations. According to him, a person hired to do his company administration and file tax returns on behalf of Energizer had been responsible for "mistakes" made in his business administration.

Matser told the Court that bookkeeping and working with figures were not his strong points. His main job as company director was the acquisition and supervision of building projects.

His brother, who runs a consultancy, recommended that Matser hire this woman. Matser knew her from school, but she was no expert on taxes, it was stated.

"My company was not doing very well, but I have always tried to come to an agreement with the Tax Office. I am not a crook and I am always prepared to pay," Matser said.

However, no payments have been made to date to settle the backlog, Prosecutor Gonda van der Wulp stated.

The case file contained indications that Matser may have instructed his bookkeeper to lower the company's tax payments systematically by 20 to 50 per cent, the Judge said.

Matser had attempted to explain the difference between figures obtained from his business administration and Tax Office data during a court hearing held in December 2013, stating that he was under the impression he was exempted from payment of turnover tax and workers' premiums for work carried out at Porto Cupecoy.

The Tax Office contended that Energizer had never requested or been granted a so-called "tax holiday." It was added that under no circumstances would any exemption have been granted to the company, as it did not comply with the requirements.

Tax attorney Gert Bergman also contested the amount of NAf. 5 million backlog in taxes. He said, for instance, that the backlog in taxes for the fiscal year 2006 no longer could be claimed, as former minister of finance Roland Tuitt had decided to write off back taxes owed for the fiscal years of 2006 and before.

The Prosecutor, however, said this policy, which was published in the National Gazette of May 24, 2013, did not apply to fraud cases.

In explaining the difference between calculations by the Tax Office and his client's administration, Bergman also pointed at the Porto Cupecoy project. He said Energizer NV had worked at Porto Cupecoy on behalf of the project's main contractor Noframar. As a company registered in French St. Martin, Noframar could not register itself in St. Maarten and could not obtain permits for foreign employees working at Porto Cupecoy.

As St. Maarten law does not make a distinction between legal and illegal workers, Noframar was obligated to pay income tax and social security premiums for its foreign workers on the building site at Cupecoy. Between 2007 and 2010, Noframar and Energizer NV had agreed that Noframar workers were included in Energizer's administration for payment of income tax and social security premiums.

Bergman underlined that these workers had no labour agreements with Energizer NV, had been working solely for Noframar and were included incorrectly in the Tax Office's calculations.

Bergman said Matser should be acquitted of all charges, as these were insufficiently substantiated. He also pointed out that failure to file taxes was not punishable by law.

Attorney Cor Merx presented several pleadings that, in his opinion, should lead to the Court declaring the Prosecutor's case against his client inadmissible.

Merx pointed out, for instance, that the defence did not have easy access to their client's "half-a-truckload" of business administration, including documents, that could have been used to prove his innocence.

The defence also stated that the case should not have been brought to Court and should have remained in the hands of the Tax Department.

The Prosecutor said the case had been submitted to the Court after Matser's business had been searched and his administration had become subject to a criminal investigation.

According to the defence, Energizer NV's administrator should have been the main subject in the investigation, not her boss. However, the Prosecutor was of the opinion that Matser had been the man in charge.

"He knew exactly how much money came in and how much of it was spent. Twice a week he asked the administrator about the amounts in the company's bank accounts. ... Matser pulled all the strings at Energizer and cannot feign ignorance," Van der Wulp said.

The Judge will give his decision on January 17, 2015.