WILLEMSTAD – Former Finance Minister and current MFK Member of Parliament Javier Silvania is backing Curaçao police officers in their dispute over taxes withheld from overtime pay, arguing that the government failed to correctly apply the Lei di Bion exemption.
Silvania says the issue should have been prevented if the proper administrative steps had been taken. According to him, the police command was required to provide the Ministry of Governance, Planning and Public Service (BPD) with all necessary data, including officers' names, overtime hours and salary information, so that BPD could request a tax exemption from the Tax Administration.
The overtime exemption under the Lei di Bion is not automatic. Payroll and tax specialists have noted that employers must apply for it, and that the exemption applies only after approval from the Tax Administration. It covers up to 10 hours of overtime per week for employees whose gross annual salary falls below the applicable wage threshold.
Silvania argues that during his time as finance minister, agreements were made for BPD to submit exemption requests for all civil servants who qualified under the law. He now wants to know whether that was done on time for the police.
The Tax Administration previously informed employers that requests for the overtime wage tax and social premium exemption had to be submitted no later than February 2, 2026.
According to Silvania, if police officers earning under the monthly threshold worked overtime within the legal limit, wage tax should not have been withheld once the required tax decision was issued.
He said the current situation has caused unnecessary frustration among officers and called for a quick solution involving the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, BPD, police management and the Tax Inspector.
“Police officers can count on Silvania's support in their fight for justice,” he said.
The controversy comes as the Lei di Bion continues to generate questions among employers and employees over how the overtime exemption should be applied in practice. The Tax Administration has stressed that employers must maintain accurate overtime records and submit the necessary wage information to qualify for the exemption.