WILLEMSTAD – Recently the Government of Curaçao announced that starting January 1, 2016 the Room Tax will be included in the State Ordinance Sales Tax 1999. This means that there will be no more room tax, but in its place the Sales Tax (OB) will be introduced.
The percentage will remain the same at 7%.
The OB that will be introduced instead of the room tax is what will be charged for short stays at hotels, private apartments and timeshares. Starting January 2016, the Department of Tax Inspection will be in charge of levying this OB and not the Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB) as is the case with the room tax.
The payment dates will remain the same, which means that it has to be done before the 15th of each month. The execution is in the hands of the Tax Inspector. Letters of objection must be delivered to the Department of Tax Inspection. The additional tax adjustments for the year 2015 will still be the responsibility of the CTB.
The Department of Tax Inspection will send the tax forms for the year 2016. Together with these tax forms, there will also be a short explanation of the changes. All entities that paid the room tax, will receive a letter from the Department of Tax Inspection in the coming week that explains the change from room tax to sales tax.
As was announced earlier in the media, for the execution of the 2015 – 2020 Tourism Master Plan, CTB will need the necessary funds, which, for a greater part, must be generated from the payment of the OB. This is why the CTB urges all that must pay the OB to do so.
The funds generated will be used to execute various promotional campaigns and publicities in other countries with the objective to bring more tourism to the island. The more funds are generated, the more promotion the CTB can do to bring visitors to the island, which is beneficial for the local economy.
For more information please visit counter 9 at the Department of Tax Inspection or the website www.belastingdienst.cw.
Bron: CuracaoChronicle