Dear Editor,
The immigration policy for Sint Maarten is slowly bankrupting the island. Why? Because permits are being issued to foreigners at the lowest levels of the pay structure, so low that the taxes they pay are not enough to cover the cost to government for letting them and their families live here. Now add the porous borders and illegals not paying any tax and you can see why we are sinking!
In 30 years the population of Sint Maarten has doubled to over 30,000. Spoiler alert! What’s it going to be 30 years from now? More people require more government services/employees, more schools, more hospitals, more roads, more power and water, more policing, more public housing, and yes ... more crime, more pollution and a bigger garbage mountain!
There is a solution: every person must carry an ID card and every work/resident permit should be for one year and only renewed if that person can show they have paid a minimum annual tax of $5,000 per person (including children) in their household. Imagine that, 20,000 permits x $5,000 = a minimum of US $100M.
My point is that if you are not going to pay enough into the tax system, then you shouldn’t have the privilege of living here.
Name withheld at author's request.
