The decline in motor vehicle tax payments last year (see Wednesday newspaper) raises questions. Assuming there were fewer Dutch-side cars on local streets would seem to be wishful thinking, especially considering increasing complaints about traffic congestion.
Likelier is that a growing number of St. Maarten residents are evading the country’s road tax and apparently getting away with it. One way to do so is by registering their vehicles on the French side, perhaps using someone else’s address, despite authorities north of the open border cracking down on this type of fraudulent behaviour.
It’s important to get a better idea of what is happening. After all, an overall drop between 2024 and 2025 from respectively 31,835 to 30,160 is no joke. What’s more, it went down by a whopping 4,102 compared to the 34,262 figure of 2023, approximately 10%.
Indications are that enforcement may have become less effective. Some say this is due to the introduction of wind-shield stickers instead of new license plates annually. The move was welcomed by many, including the author of this column, primarily for environmental reasons, although a lot of old plates are sold to visitors as souvenirs.
Another possibility is that these stickers are simply not clearly visible enough for police to easily identify offenders. Perhaps this has to do with most cars having so many as well, both for mandatory vehicle inspections and road tax.
It was suggested in the recent past to combine the two, also in terms of their expiration dates, to facilitate controls. Whether that is a feasible option remains to be seen, but something needs to give.
