WILLEMSTAD - Recently, at the request of Finance Minister Kenneth Gijsbertha, parliament approved a notification about the profit tax before the relevant bill was dealt with.

In this way parliament meets the earlier urgent request from the minister and the financial sector. Earlier in a letter to parliament, Gijsbertha announced that there was a great deal of haste behind the bill.

The transitional arrangement for the offshore is coming to an end and with the end of the year in sight, the companies established in Curaçao, as well as companies considering settling in Curaçao, want to know where they stand and what the new legislative proposal that takes effect from 1 January 2020 will mean for them.

That is why the minister was asked to publish the articles concerning the income tax in parliament as soon as possible prior to their treatment.

“Companies are now on the point of deciding whether they will remain established in Curaçao or whether they will leave, with possible loss of employment and possible loss of income. They indicate that they cannot wait until the end of the year to take a decision until the bill has been approved by parliament and published,” said the Minister of Finance.

It concerns the "Notification of the announcement of parts of the Bill on the National Revision of the Tax Review 2019 in anticipation of treatment in parliament". With the approval of parliament and the expected approval of the coming legislation, the minister can now provide clarity to the companies in Curaçao.

The entire coalition voted in favor of the application. The opposition voted against; the opposition parties found it unacceptable that the minister made a notification and did not present the amendment to the law with accompanying documents.