WILLEMSTAD – The actions of MFK Minister Javier Silvania to exempt tax debts are far more serious compared to the accusations faced by former MFK Minister Dorothy Pieters-Janga.

Ms. Janga had attempted to instruct the commission responsible for liquidating the BZV (Bureau Health Care Cost Insurance) to not collect debts that the court had ordered to be paid. However, she was unsuccessful, and her actions resulted in her stepping down as minister. No one insisted that the Public Prosecutor’s Office pursue her case, seemingly out of sympathy. It’s understood that the idea to not collect the debts did not originate from her, but she drafted the letter and signed it.

In Silvania’s case, it appears that he personally instructed his collaborator, Wim Nijdam, to stop collecting taxes from 2017 and earlier. This was not just an attempt but an instruction that was carried out exactly as Silvania directed. Silvania publicly announced that taxes from those years would no longer be collected, effectively converting the action into an exemptiong He went even further by encouraging everyone to request their ‘debtor overview’ and see for themselves that they no longer owed taxes from 2017 or earlier. Thus, he not only instructed the exemption but also provided formal confirmation.

This has led to a situation where the tax collector can no longer collect these debts, and the Public Prosecutor’s Office cannot prosecute individuals for tax offenses before 2017, as the debts have essentially disappeared overnight.

In cases where the tax collector attempted to recover debts through the courts, judges in both the trial and appeal stages have ruled that, based on Silvania’s actions and public announcements, those debts can no longer be collected.

Compared to Ms. Janga, Silvania has committed a completely illegal act and publicly announced it, making him a suspect. This public information should be enough for a serious Public Prosecutor’s Office to begin an investigation and take appropriate action.

Silvania has gone further, returning to the scene of the crime by proposing a law to Parliament to cover his punishable action. This shows, once again, that his actions were premeditated and deliberate. This attempt was intercepted by the Advisory Council (SER), which issued a devastating recommendation, pointing out that Silvania’s actions were against the law.

His conduct during the Central Committee meeting in Parliament also did not help his case. During the meeting, he expanded on unrelated matters in an attempt to divert attention from the illegal act he had committed. In the same meeting, he once again compromised himself by bringing up the example of the bus company ABC Busbedrijf. He mentioned that the company now has to pay a certain amount every month, but that for four years, they had been granted exemption for debts older than five years. The minister is once again acting against the law, and in this case, the deal given to ABC Busbedrijf should apply to everyone or every company, as tax laws do not recognize distinctions.

Silvania simply isn’t thinking correctly when it comes to handling such matters. Clearly, his creative mind is corrupt. He’s doing wrong and trying to sell it as if he’s doing something for social good. This makes Silvania a dangerous person.

The MFK party held a meeting and had Ms. Janga step down for her failed attempt. Now, in the case of Silvania, where rumors suggest that this gross and unscrupulous tax exemption was meant to help friends, all the MFK ministers were present during the Central Committee meeting of Parliament to support him? They held an alleged cozy technical meeting with their coalition partner, the PNP to cover things up and accused parliamentary representatives of the people of exposing what really happened.

Bron: Curacao Chronicle