Curacao Government Receives Tax Revenue Boost

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

24 August 2005

The budget deficit of the island government of Curacao has been transformed into a surplus after a 146 million-guilder (US$82.3 million) bonus from once-off tax revenue.

The revenue boost means that the government is now in surplus by 4.8 million guilders, reversing a 60 million guilder deficit approved by the Island Council in December 2004.

However, the tax revenue boost is unlikely to be repeated, and an explanatory memorandum acknowledged that the development was "an exceptional and incidental bonus," according to local site Amigoe.com.

Last week, the Island Council discussed how to distributed the new tax revenues. It decided to apportion 61 millions to the general pension fund of the Netherlands Antilles for government workers (APNA) as repayment of the loan that the government has with them; release 20 million in Curoil-shares; reserve 48 million for anticipated taxation setbacks and indexation for government officials and teachers; invest 36 million guilders in economic development; and set aside 7.5 millions for the monthly 100-guilder compensation to pensioners, among other smaller expenditures.

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