WILLEMSTAD – A new bill aimed at stimulating youth employment in Curaçao was approved in the parliament yesterday. The bill, once enacted, will allow young people between the ages of 18 and 29 who secure a job to be exempt from payroll taxes and social security contributions by their employers.
The bill was introduced by Member of Parliament Fergino Brownbill, who highlighted the significant obstacles many young people face in finding employment. He described the proposal as an "out of the box" idea to help more young people secure jobs.
The bill also addresses additional working hours. Under the proposal, employees who work overtime will be able to retain more of their earnings. A key part of the law includes mechanisms to prevent abuse of the exemptions. Specifically, anyone who works up to 10 hours of overtime per week will not have to pay taxes on those extra hours.
This new legislation aims to alleviate youth unemployment and offer a more accessible path to employment while ensuring fair compensation for additional work hours.