In a press release, the RCN announced that property tax decrees have been sent out recently in the public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. “This value decree indicates the value of your immovable goods for property tax. Based on this value the payable property tax is determined” The current …

The organizers of the annual Saba Idol Competition at Scouts Place are announcing the top scores for competitors for the semi-finals scheduled for November 9. After each competitor sang six songs, the top scores  are 108 points for a competitor from Colombia, 106 points for a competitor from Germany, 104 …

The list of basic commodities imported into the public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba exempt from sales tax ABB has been expanded, a press release from the tax office of the Dutch Caribbean said. This was decided after consultation between the public entities of the Dutch Caribbean and the …

The Dutch Government is negotiating with St. Maarten for goods bought in St. Maarten and exported to Dutch Public Entities Saba and St. Eustatius to be exempted from Turnover Tax (ToT) by year-end. Finance Minister Roland Tuitt is looking into the legislation to make this possible and is using the …

Reciprocity is important for the new Dutch conservative labour cabinet and as such it will apply the same residency registration rules in The Netherlands for people from Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten as the overseas countries have for Dutch people who want to  reside on the islands. Leader of the …

The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament has voted down a motion by Member of Parliament (MP) Wassila Hachchi of the democratic D66 party to secure Papiamentu and English in theDutch Constitution on behalf of Bonaire, Eustatius and Saba. Only a minority in the Second Chamber supported Hachchi’s idea to …

The new Dutch Government is planning to regulate the registration of people from Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten in The Netherlands. This is stated in the Governing Accord the conservative VVD party and the Labour Party PvdA presented on Monday. “Based on criteria that Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten have …

It is now official: PvdA (Labour) prominent Ronald Plasterk follows Liesbeth Spies as Minister of Interior and Kingdom Relations, as was confirmed by the party leader Diederik Samsom yesterday at the presentation of the coalition with the VVD. Plasterk was a member of the Leiden city council for the Labour Party in the early 1980s. …

NEW YORK, NY – Chelsea’s Agora Gallery will feature the original work of Dutch Carribean artist, Heleen Cornet in Mélange of Milieu. The exhibition is scheduled to run from November 1 through November 21, 2012. The opening reception will be held on Thursday night, November 8, 2012 from 6-8 pm. Dutch-born …

People with higher than average incomes will be hardest hit by the new coalition’s plans because they will have to pay more for healthcare, their children and their homes, analysts say on Tuesday. The right-wing VVD and Labour party (PvdA) outlined their plans for government on Monday afternoon and both …

Caribbean students studying in the Netherlands are at a disadvantage because of poor language skills, a report by the Soualiga Foundation found. Stichting Soualiga Foundation caters to the specific social and cultural needs of Sint Maarteners living in the Netherlands. Other factors that hamper studies are poor preparation before departure …

Commissioner of Finance Bruce Zagers presented amendments for the 2012 and 2013 budgets, both of which were adopted without any diffi culty during last week’s Island Council meeting. The 2012 amendments deal with the allocation of the US $1.2 million received as additional free remittance and approved by the Committee …

The new Dutch cabinet formed by the conservative VVD party and the Labour Party PvdA will not cut Curaçao and St. Maarten any slack where it comes to financial supervision. “Supervision on the countries of the Kingdom based on the Law on Financial Supervision will be maintained,” it was stated …

SABA–The tenth Sea and Learn season, which marked the 25th anniversary of the Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF), ended last week Saturday evening, October 27, with several presentations held at Shearwater Resort. Sea and Learn organizer, Lynn Costenaro thanked the volunteers, the scientists, researchers, the sponsors and organizations that worked together …

SABA–Saba Lions Club partnered with Saba University School of Medicine (SUSOM) to hold a skin cancer lecture event at Sunny Valley Youth Center in The Bottom, Wednesday evening, October 24. SUSOM faculty and students also called on Saba Lions Foundation, AIDS Support Group Saba Foundationand Strong Women of Saba, who …