Dear Editor,
Wednesday during the Council of Ministers’ Press Briefing Minister Richardson Gibson noted, which has been confirmed in The Daily Herald Thursday morning that there will be an increase in the annual road tax for 2016. The Minister noted that his predecessors are responsible for the legislation to enact such, basically saying to the people of St. Maarten it is not our fault; don't blame me for the extra cost that you will now incur on your already tight budget.
Ironically during the same briefing it was made clear to the people that there will be no new elections, because we as a current government see no need for such without electoral reform. Am I to conclude then that the current government, because of all of the financial woes supports this increase in the road tax? The answer without getting an answer from our elected officials is most likely yes as the revenue is needed.
After all it is all about the money, to hell with the overall social and or financial wellbeing of the people in the immediate, folks will just have to find a way to get the extra money to pay up. Let me firmly state that I applaud any effort to balance our budget and find additional revenues, however, where are the well thought out plans to change our tax system? Where is the well thought out plans to increase compliance above 30per cent? Where is the vision needed to bring this country into the 21st Century?
More new political parties than we actually truly need will be vying for a seat in Parliament whenever the elections are actually held, yet I am not impressed with any of them. As someone recently said to me the people who should be running for government are not and the people who are should not be. Vision and will are needed now more so than ever before as both are directly linked to balancing well thought out development.
Why should someone who drives an i10 pay the same amount or similar road tax as someone who drives a Hummer? Why should someone who buys a second hand car that is 10 years old pay the same amount of road tax as someone who drives a new car from the lot? The roads are increasingly congested with cars that are not fit to be on the road so why am I to pay the same amount of road tax as these people?
Yet as a country we do not invest in environmentally favourable road tax, safety policies and enforcement, for a healthier and viable tomorrow. Not one cent of the extra revenues collected will go to projects that improve our environment and our overall health conditions. However, we the people are now being asked to pay more annually into a system that lacks vision and will. I often ask myself if our political leaders have a conscience. Well I guess if you can’t beat them join them.
Natasha Richardson
