Dear Editor,
Passenger taxation is ‘swamp taxation’ because no one besides the tax receiver wants it, and it sucks. They may opt for visiting a different island destination that doesn’t have the taxes, yet does have the same sun, the beaches and the palm trees. Plus, the new discovery may even have more to offer and worth a repeat visit. ICAO is the International Civil Aviation Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations. For one, it fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth.
ICAO has clear policies on taxation and Member States are urged to apply ICAO policies on taxation in regulatory practices. ICAO Assembly Resolutions have repeatedly urged Member States to follow the ICAO policies on taxation and not to impose taxes on the sale or use of international air transport. Despite these policies, the past decade has seen an unprecedented proliferation of taxes levied on air passenger tickets in the region. This trend is causing serious concerns and has a negative impact on the sustainable development of air transport, which, ultimately, negatively impacts the tourism industry and the overall national economic development.
At a CARIBAVIA conference, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, former Minister of Aviation and Tourism of the Bahamas and former executive of Caribbean Tourism Organization, highlighted what he called the “madness” of some leaders, who “shoot themselves in the head” by trying to implement airport fees that actually become counterproductive to the economy as a whole. He used the example of the Bahamas that at one point was so affordable to travel to, Casinos would fly in patrons for as little as $99 knowing they would spend more. However, with the introduction of many airport fees and related taxes, the $99 ticket now costs more like $249, making it much less affordable to implement such incentives. He added that taxes inflate the prices and tourists will think twice before travelling to the destination. He cautioned governments against introducing fees that would figuratively be equivalent to “shooting themselves in the head.”
In a recent comment, he asserted that there is strong evidence that we have managed to convert some "hotel visitors" to cruise passengers by raising taxes on air tickets substantially and leaving taxes on cruises the same. It is now less expensive to take a short cruise than the cost of a round-trip airline ticket for that short trip. In essence, it means that passengers would leave more money on the cruise ships benefitting the cruise operators, rather than spending it on shore at destinations.
Caribbean governments are well advised that before making a decision, an independent evaluation should be made on the impact of passenger or airport taxation. A ‘neat’ idea to get some extra money in the coffers, may turn out to be monkeynomics. What plays a crucial role and contributes significantly to an economy must not be hindered by ineffective government taxation.
Commander Bud Slabbaert
Cdr. Bud Slabbaert is the Chairman and Coordinator of CARIBAVIA, the Caribbean Aviation Meetup, an annual result and solution-oriented conference for stakeholders of ‘airlift’ in the Caribbean. Mr. Slabbaert’s background is accentuated by aviation business development, strategic communication, and journalism. In accordance with his study of Economy in his younger years in Germany, he is authorized to carry the title of ‘State Certified Economist’
Dear Editor,
That’s the opening of an old lawyers joke. It goes, “What do you have when you have 1,000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?” and the punch line is “A good start”. It always gets a good laugh right up until you need one. Then it becomes a whole different ball game.
I spent a lot of time in court when I was an engineer doing expert witness work for a variety of lawyers. Some were really good at what they did and others would have been better off learning the phrase “Do you want fries with that?” but in the end justice prevailed more often than not.
We need one of the good ones here now. A pit bull, attack dog, serial killer personal injury guy. One of those guys you see on late night TV getting billion dollar judgments from the cigarette industry.
In this newspaper yesterday [Monday – Ed.] was the story of Mr. Buncamper’s alleged corruption that made everybody downwind from the dump sick for years. According to the paper, he got bought and paid for to hire a company that allowed the dump to burn unchecked for years which, for all intents and purposes, made a lot of people very sick, probably led to some elderly dying well before their time and God help you if you were trying to sell your house during those periods when the air wasn’t fit to breathe.
In the law, or at least in the States, his actions would be seen as the proximate cause of these illnesses, deaths, and loss of property values. That “proximate cause” thing is one of those terms I heard in court over and over. The other words I heard all the time were “he knew or should have known” and “held to a higher standard”.
The “knew or should have known” thing is the linchpin of most negligence cases where someone’s actions cause some harm or injury that could have been prevented if that person had acted responsibly. It implies that a professional would certainly be aware that a failure to do his job properly would result in the direct cause of that harm. And that’s where the “higher standard” comes in. A professional is expected to know better. He can’t claim ignorance as an amateur might. Because he is a professional, the law holds him to a higher standard.
If the judge in the Buncamper case comes back with a guilty verdict then, in simple words, the court is saying that his actions were both negligent and the direct proximate cause of all the injury and harm done to hundreds of people all those years for the sake of making some fast Yankee dollars under the table.
In the States there would already be pit bull, serial killer, bottom-feeding lawyers licking their lips and canvassing those affected neighborhoods for clients. The eight-figure damage claims would already be written up and summons ready to serve warm from the word-processor even before the judge’s verdict was cool to the touch. The lawyers here seem to have more class than that but we can only hope.
If the verdict is, in fact, “guilty” then justice needs to be served here in a manner that finally sends the message to the community and the Dutch and to anyone else that cares at all about this country. He needs to go to prison and he needs to be made to pay serious damages to all those he hurt and betrayed for all those years. No compromise.
Where is a good lawyer when you need him (or her)?
Steven Johnson
Dear Editor,
While viewing the Memorial Service for my dear sister-in-law, Apostle Pearl, and listening to all the good things bestowed on her, it made me think of the good times I had with her and her daughters, Mshinda and Aisha, at home in Saunders, St. Maarten.
Pearl was always ready to open her doors to welcome family members and friends. She always showed my wife and me a good time when we visited St. Maarten. She was a good entertainer. To me, her specialty was a good and passionate manager at the Cupecoy Resort.
I can recall the first time, she accommodated my wife and me in a duplex suite overlooking the Caribbean Sea from our upstairs balcony, for the entire week, complimentary. Back on my job in New York, with Pan American Airway, I boosted what a great time I had. Since we fly that cost us nothing, my boss wanted to visit St. Maarten. Again, Pearl to the rescue. She accommodated my boss with the same complimentary accommodations. They loved it so much that they went back to St. Maarten for a second time, and Pearl greeted them with the same welcome, and complimentary stay at the resort.
That’s the kind of Pearl I knew, giving and helping. My close friend was in St. Croix, and got caught in a hurricane, and the hotel they were staying got damage, flights to New York were cancelled for a few days, and it happens they got an island hopper flight to St. Maarten, to connect to New York next day. I called out to Pearl for assistance to them. Again, the good Samaritan stretched out to accommodate my friend and wife to a complimentary suite, washed all their clothing, sneakers and ironed and folded their clothes for next-day travel. These folks had never seen or had such service rendered to them in their travel lives. They could not stop in giving her high praises and thanks.
In closing, Pearl was not only my sister-in-law, she is family. She became the Apostle Pearl Pantaleon, that carried on the message of God to the people. You have earned your place with our Heavenly Father. Here you will find eternal rest.
Be Blessed.
Ferdinand Lee James and Family
Fort Pierce, Florida
Dear Editor,
I would like to respond to misinformation provided by a Dutch politician of Statian ancestry, in your newspaper editorial section of November 12, 2021. This particular Dutch politician has expressed strong Afro-centric views regarding the scientific research of Africans in the Diaspora. Although I do not agree with all of his opinions, I respect his right to have them, and indeed I do agree with some few aspects indicated. However, the emotionally-charged means of his arguments, and blatant misinformation provided, seem to be more of a quest to advance his own political career both in Holland and Statia.
Of particular concern were his accusation of “tokenism” if a person of African descent does not agree with his extremist views, and even more concerning is his charge that “Archaeology is per definition a racist discipline” as outright misinformation. Regarding all the social science fields there has been a long history of transformation from early biased philosophies to the more diverse and inclusive philosophies of today, including archaeology and for this politician’s own discipline of psychology. But as a Dutch politician, it seems he prefers to trigger emotional responses for his political gain, rather than be accurate with the facts. Something similar to what we are seeing globally with the Q-Anon phenomena of misinformation and grotesque distortions of the truth.
What is important is that Caribbean people seek not to throw the pendulum to the far extreme opposite direction, but rather to find the respectful middle-ground of full inclusiveness for Caribbean communities within the scientific study of their own heritage. What is also significant, is that technological advances of scientific heritage research now allow for an enormous amount of new information to be learned specifically about those Africans who were part of the Diaspora and thereby vastly enhance our broader understanding of the actual lives of the African ancestors of Caribbean communities today.
One of the points I have in agreement with this Dutch politician is that we need more Caribbean heritage researchers from the region! Indeed, my entire 40-year career has been built on developing community-engagement programs for heritage research, in which we are seeking to inspire more Caribbean people to become heritage researchers. Unfortunately, this politician seems to be ignoring the great diversity of Caribbean multi-cultural and multi-racial societies, and rather has expressed his view that only Black African centered persons should follow these fields of study. I absolutely agree and support that Caribbean persons of African descent should be pursuing careers as heritage researchers, and indeed many are. However, for him to specify that only Black persons should make this heritage career choice is nothing less than racism itself.
We are at a critical time for heritage research transformation on Statia, and the recently created Statia Heritage Research Commission (SHRC) is also striving to achieve many of those exact same goals this Dutch politician mentioned, including recommendations from regional and local individuals who have experience in these matters to revise and re-structure the systemic problems which have come forth from the SHRC investigations. The SHRC recommendations will be specific and detailed regarding what archaeological practice guidelines and policies need to be in place on Statia, based on International standards and respect for community voices.
Dr. Jay B. Haviser, Archaeologist
Dear Editor,
The economies of the Eastern Caribbean islands have seen many changes in fortunes over the last four decades. Typically the economies of the small island states are constrained by a dependence on the single tourism pillar with minimum diversification and very few diversification possibilities that can make a real difference. Common to them all are public sectors that are broadened to the maximum degree mainly driven by the political interest to provide employment and a lack of domestic savings that lead to long-term investments.
