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Editorial - As much about quality

Government’s personnel cost has increased more than foreseen, Finance Minister Martin Hassink told Parliament on Tuesday, and is fast becoming “unaffordable.” He gave no clear indication as to why, but a perceived lack of efficiency in certain cases resulting from sheer incompetence may well have something to do with it.

For example, in the US persons have to take a special exam to enter the civil service, where the rank and pay for those who pass it are determined at least in part by the result Read more

Opinion: Sensible Decision (Write-Off Tax Debts Pre 2006)

The Council of Ministers took a sensible decision by leaving a policy that takes all tax debts from 2006 and earlier years off the books in place.

Former Finance Minister Roland Tuitt published the policy in May 2013. It triggered a remarkable advice from the Social Economic Council (SER) that claimed that the policy left more than 4.5 billion guilders in taxes uncollected Read more

Silvio Matser facing prison time, big fine

~ 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 Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament George Pantophlet is asking Government to ensure that the government owned companies comply with their responsibilities towards the shareholders in actuality the people of St. Maarten. The member wants a report from government as to whether government owned companies are paying their concession fees Read more

Ser-Member Reed Strikes Back At Tuitt

St. Maarten – William Reed, a senior member of the Social Economic Council (SER) has reacted angrily to statements made by former finance Minister Roland Tuitt about a SER-advice that criticizes Tuitt’s decision to take tax debts from 2006 and before off the books. The SER called the policy rules Tuitt published in the National Gazette on May 24, 2013, “unlawful.”

Yesterday, Tuitt stated in this newspaper that the SET had been used as “a political football” in writing its advice.

“As a senior member of the SER, I take exception to your article,” Reed stated in a brief email to this newspaper Read more

Former Minister Roland Tuitt: “Ser Used As Political Football”

St. Maarten – Former Finance Minister Roland Tuitt has lashed out at the Social Economic Council (SER) for its advice that calculates the total write-off of uncollected taxes between 1976 and 2006 at more than 4.4 billion guilders ($2.5 billion). In a statement that sums up ten reasons why there is nothing wrong with his decision to write off the old tax debts, the former minister, a certified public accountant, notes that the receiver ought to be investigated  for breaking the law by instructing employees to collect tax debts older than 2006. Read more

SER A POLITICAL FOOTBALL.

style="text-align: left;">General

PHILIPSBURG:--- The SER is an advisory council and not a higher council of state that gives requested and unrequested advises to government. Recently the SER has let government use it for political reasons during the last elections and it published the report recently.
The write off of the taxes prior to 2006 is well documented and thought out and is based on sound advises.

Facts

The Parliament of St. Maarten passed two motions requesting that the amounts prior to 2006 be written off.The CFT, SOAB and Audit Chamber have made comments about those old amounts in their reports.In the financial statements of the government of St Read more

Ser-Advice Meets With Severe Criticism

St. Maarten – The advice from the Social Economic Council about former Finance Minister Roland Tuitt’s decision in 2013 to take all tax debts from 2006 and before off the books, has met with some serious criticism. The SER-advice labels the decision as unlawful and states that Tuitt wiped out 4.47 billion guilders (around $2.5 billion) in tax arrears.

“The suggestion that the country is missing out on 4.4 billion guilders in tax revenue is unfounded,” a source told this newspaper under guarantee of anonymity Read more

Editorial: Follow The Money

The enormity of former Finance Minister Roland Tuitt’s move to take all tax debts from 1976-2006 off the books is beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. According to the Social Economic Council Tuitt let go of 4.47 billion guilders in arrears – approximately ten times the country’s current national budget.

If the policy document Tuitt signed in 2013 – ten days after the fall of the second Wescot-Williams cabinet – is indeed unlawful as the SER claims, one may well wonder whether this measure fits within the framework of departure policy.

If that is so, it begs the question who would stand to benefit the most from this unexpected Christmas gift Read more

Opinion: Up Party Causes Real Estate Bubble

Dear Editor,

The UP led government has created a real estate bubble that will burst and hurt many real estate investors. Let us take a look at the real estate transaction by Minister Lake of the UP party from an auditor’s view:

Before a minister can sign a document or contract that binds government financially he has to obtain at least 3 approvals from different control units:

He has to obtain the approval from the minister of finance, because the minister of finance has higher supervision on all the ministries in government. He has to obtain the approval from the Council of Ministers. He has to obtain the approval from the Governor of St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- After listening to the last political debate on Sunday night which was organized by AVS News one wonders who really is running the country at this present moment. The two political parties namely the UP and DP tried their utmost best to convince the people that they are the ones most capable of running the country for another four years, yet they did not admit they are the ones in charge right now at least until October 10th, 2014.
SMN News has been bringing you a review of the past four years to remind voters of some of the things that transpired when the three coalitions ran the affairs of the people this great nation.
Early 2011 shortly after the UP/ DP government took office, the biggest scandal that broke and had the country in uproar was when Member of Parliament Jules James who is working for Simpson Bay Resorts Management Company (SBRMC) laid off close to 200 workers that have been working for Pelican Resorts for years Read more

Lively Political Debate On Laser 101: Connor (Up) Estimates Gray Economy To Be 50 Percent

St. Maarten – “The government has a debt of 500 million guilders to the Netherlands, and 200 million to creditors. The 2015 budget is expected to be around 465 million. Unemployment is 11.5 percent. It is your first day in office. What will you do?”

This is how moderator Glen Carty started the political debate on radio station Laser 101 on Saturday evening with participants Emil Lee (number 4-candidate Democratic Party), George Pantophlet (number 2-candidate National Alliance), Claret Connor (number 10-candidate United People’s Party) and Harlec Doran (number 6-candidate United Sint Maarten Party).

The lively debate outshone earlier debates on AVS and the political mixer at the St Read more

Former Ministers Fail To Submit Financial Declarations

PM unaware of blank filing by former Justice Minister Duncan St. Maarten – Not all ministers that left office after the fall of the second Wescot-Williams cabinet have filed a declaration of their assets and financial affairs, Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said at yesterday’s Council of Ministers press briefing. The General Audit Chamber stated in a report about institutional integrity in May that ministers who leave office have to submit a declaration “truthfully affirming which business interests and assets he, his spouse or partner and his children possess.” This rule is based on the National Ordinance Promotion Integrity of Ministers. The declaration has to include secondary functions and ancillary activities plus the compensation they receive for these activities Read more