WILLEMSTAD – Concerns have been raised in the Curaçao Parliament about whether payroll taxes and social premiums deducted from healthcare workers’ salaries are always being transferred to the tax authorities.
Sheldry Osepa of the Partido Nashonal di Pueblo (PNP) has submitted questions to the government seeking clarification about the practice, which he says could expose healthcare workers to serious financial risks.
The questions follow a recent court case involving the healthcare institution Betesda. According to Osepa, the case suggests the issue may extend beyond a single dispute.
He noted that employees typically see deductions for wage tax and social premiums listed on their monthly pay slips. However, it is not always clear whether these amounts are actually transferred to the Belastingdienst Curaçao.
Potential risk for workers
Documents related to the Betesda case indicate that about 130 employees could potentially be affected. If an employer deducts taxes from salaries but fails to remit them, the tax authorities may later attempt to collect the outstanding amount from the employees themselves—even if the money was already withheld from their wages.
Osepa suggested that the problem could be linked to the financial pressures faced by some healthcare institutions. According to him, organizations may at times face difficult choices between paying taxes or covering essential operational expenses such as food, medication, diapers, and staff salaries.
Questions to the minister
In his parliamentary questions addressed to the Minister of Ministry of Health, Environment and Nature, Osepa is seeking clarification on several issues.
He wants to know whether other healthcare institutions on the island may also be deducting taxes and premiums without transferring them to the tax authorities. He also asked how much money could potentially be involved and whether current government reimbursement rates for care beds are sufficient to cover the costs faced by healthcare providers.
In addition, Osepa is requesting clarity on the legal position of workers. Specifically, he asked whether healthcare employees at subsidized institutions risk being required to repay taxes later, despite the amounts already being deducted from their salaries.