Honorable Minister of Finance, Ardwell Irion as our Guest Speaker
On Tuesday October 26th, we had the Honorable Minister of Finance, Ardwell Irion as our guest speaker. His topic was” Economic Developments on St. Maarten”. The Minister started with sharing about the St. Maarten Stimulus & Recovery Plan (Business Payroll Support). After that he went straight into the Priorities of the Ministry of Finance, such as:
  • Public Financial Management
  1. Cost Cutting Measures
  2. Fuel Report
  3. Mobile Phones Usage Report
  • Tax improvements
  1. Legislation
  2. Tax office
  • Other priorities
  1. Online Payments
    (Government Online Portal)
  1. Mortgage Guarantee Fund
  2. Human capacity building
  3. Enterprise Support Program
 
Finally, he shared about General Principles Tax Reform:
  • Introduce new taxes; 
  • Abolish disruptive or insufficient-generating taxes;
  • Increase practical enforcement and control; 
  • Attract foreign investors; 
  • No tax haven.
Overall, it was a very informative presentation, that encouraged a lot of questions and discussions.
Minister Irion was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation by Pres. Wayne on behalf of the club.