WILLEMSTAD – The Ministry of Finance has announced a new policy to support subsidized institutions with their tax obligations. Old tax and premium debts will no longer be collected by the tax authorities.

After an in-depth investigation by the General Audit Chamber Curaçao into the financial position of institutions with structural subsidies, it was found that many of these institutions were financially vulnerable and heavily dependent on government subsidies. These subsidies were often insufficient to meet all their obligations, including fiscal ones.

The Curaçao government annually provides an average of 133 million guilders in subsidies to 62 institutions.

Healthcare Institutions

Recent findings from the Ministry of Health show that many institutions, especially in the healthcare sector, struggle with outstanding tax and premium debts. This is partly due to the fact that the SVB (Social Insurance Bank) rate for these institutions has not been adjusted.

The new policy of the Ministry of Finance aims to support these institutions by allowing the suspension of part of their tax debts. They will no longer have to pay this part, at least the tax authorities will not collect the money anymore. The condition is that the ongoing tax obligations that have not yet reached their due date are met.

In the context of this initiative, the Ministry of Health has requested the establishment of the Curaçao Healthcare Authority to conduct various cost-price, efficiency, and rate studies in healthcare.

These studies focus on nursing homes, laboratories, and pharmacies, and may lead to adjustments in subsidies or SVB rates, benefiting the financial position of these healthcare institutions.

Personnel Costs

Subsidies provided by the Curaçao government to non-governmental organizations mainly go to personnel costs, as calculated by the Audit Chamber.

In forty of the 62 subsidized NGOs, personnel costs account for more than half of the operational expenses.

Bron: Curacao Chronicle