Dear Editor,
One of the premier mottos of the Dutch is “voor wat hoort wat” (you got to give to get) . From in my Sunday school days I was taught that it is more satisfying to give than to get.
Tax Holiday is no stranger to investors on Sint Maarten, but with the same token, changing names of companies and managers also went along with the end of the holiday. In the paper of August 16, 2018, I read under the heading “Three tax holiday requests, exemptions alone do not generate investments.”
I am not in government, so if there was transparency of government one would not have to speculate from time to time on what government is doing. I have always been of the opinion that if giving is better than receiving then anyone who uses Sint Maarten to get should gladly give in return. So may I make two suggestion in which those who receive can give back.
Because of the results of these given tax holidays in the past, I will use the word entity. Whichever entity is going to enjoy a tax holiday should be made to adopt a responsibility apart from the reason for receiving that tax holiday. In this manner that old trick of changing business name and managers after the tax holiday is used, at the least the country would have gotten back something in return for the tax holiday.
Government is in the tax business so if government invests, government should get returns. For instance, maintenance of schools; assisting or paying for school supplies; maintenance of sections of a road; purchasing of sign boards and etc. This should be made known to the public because it is the people’s patrimony.
Tax holiday should be for the business not the owners , the owners should not be exempt from taxes.
The other suggestion is that if any hotel is going to receive a soft loan to erect a building that resists a category five hurricane, one of the conditions should be that that hotel be available as a temporary hurricane shelter. Ultimately that is what it was built for. Because the hurricane season falls simultaneously with the low season, occupancy should not be a problem. Beside that government routinely receives the occupancy lists from hotels, so to know how many people are in a certain hotel should not be a problem.
Actually this should be the task of the hurricane preparedness committee. All of this information should be on hand. Because we live in a hurricane belt, I believe that VROMI [Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure – Ed.] should have information on hand pertaining to which buildings or homes could be category five resistant. On the other hand VROMI could also know which homes are vulnerable. So making a contribution towards the reinforcement of such homes can also be in the tax holiday deal.
I do not think that I am being unreasonable with these suggestions, because these investors are not chance takers, they know the outcome of their venture beforehand. I also believe that where there is a will there is a way. In this case the people of Sint Maarten could should be able to see “what’s in it for them.”
By now we should know that those in leadership positions should be watchful and should not use their authority selfishly or unkindly for everyone will bear the consequences of their deeds, whether good or bad. To give is more satisfying than to receive.
Russell A. Simmons
Ministers and MPs are cowards!
Dear Editor,
A response to the letter published August 14 entitled “You should be thankful.” It is my strong belief that Mr. or Mrs. “You should be thankful” should read to understand and not to merely respond.
In my letter I, as simply as possible, expressed my opinion that the multitude of persons who now benefit from being part of a government have no sense of loyalty and are obviously cowards because they have all failed to utter a word of support for a colleague who is facing a serious allegation.
At no point in my letter did I suggest that MP Theo Heyliger be exempted from the rule of law. I did suggest the rule of law is probably being used as a political weapon to create some degree of destabilisation. An unstable St. Maarten lends for great political mileage for some European Dutch politicians.
Sitting on my balcony looking over the beautiful hills of this island and reflecting on the fact that our Prosecutor’s Office is top-heavy with people who come from a far off place/culture and people who are alien to this island’s culture, I realise that is it easy for them to be misguided by ignorant people like Mr. or Mrs. “You should be thankful.” This allows for the aliens to form opinions that are distorted. Therefore, I worry that a biased approach can be fuelled by European Dutch politics and melee-speaking locals. The melee-speaking locals/residents are the worst of the two.
Mr. or Mrs. “You should be thankful” suggestion that “Vote-buying is the tip of the iceberg, that which we can see. What we do not see, the root and the reason behind it all, lurks beneath, and is larger and far more harmful to society than we are often aware. We should not pass this off as a frivolous offense.”
What BS is he/she saying! This is a typical example of why our alien prosecutors think we are an island of crooks. He/she creates a negative imagine of St. Maarten void of patriotism, a virtue seriously lacking on this island and worst yet based on no solid prosecutable facts.
In this case, Lady Justice is being corrupted or at the lease badly influenced by your negative and begrudging view of the island. And this trend is not limited to you; too many of our people are culpable as it relates to this behaviour.
Note that at no point am I or will I ever suggest that justice be subverted. All I ask is for a fair and unclouded justice system. Even in the Netherlands some politicians have finally realised that the justice system is somewhat flawed – see page 13 of August 15 The Daily Herald. D66 Member of Parliament (MP) Maarten Groothuizen suggests that judges should represent society in its entirety and that increasing the number of ethnic-minority judges would boost trust in the legal system. He said, “Dutch judiciary needs to reflect all society.” I believe his idea should be extended to the prosecutor’s offices that allowing the population should feel comfortable that our selected leaders are not being unduly targeted for political and/or “let me show these islanders we are better than them” gain.
Now, coming back to our local cowards, I stand by my position that If some one of them or the United Democrats (UD) had just said, “We stand by our leader, who is credited for a lot of the major development of this island, and we look forward to his vindication in a just and fair court unclouded by any political bias,” I would say to myself, “Wow! At the least they care for one of their colleagues.”
Heyliger has continuously been the country’s highest vote getter and many of the politicians sitting in their comfy chairs are there as a result of votes garnered by him. Yet, there is not one word of support. Is it that there is no sense of loyalty or are they scared that the powers that be turn their attention on them?
Mr. or Mrs. “You should be thankful” stated that “We have a new team and with that renewed hope.” If that new team lacks the decency to stand in support of one of their own (even their leader) then I submit that they are all cowards who lack a moral compass. They are obviously caught up in their own self-interests and not that of being leaders and role models. I will find it very difficult to vote for any of them next election.
To him or her, a humble suggestion: comprehend first and then disagree if need be.
Justin Ebenezer
Dear Editor,
When I continue to mention that for years now the people in government have been getting paid for doing nothing, is not this single use plastic bag saga a real testament?
Dear Editor,
The excitement of the start of a new school year is brimming in many hearts, while others are anxious about the unknown.
Dear Editor,
I respectfully disagree with the opinion submission “Again disappointed by our politicians” in which the author suggested that a particular politician should be exempt from charges of vote-buying because of his popularity. I wonder if the author also protested when members of the opposition were accused. I think not, since he claims q:\fthat he is in principle against that practice.
