The Urgency of Prompt Payment: A Crucial Step Towards Economic Growth
April 30, 2024
For years, our economy has been struggling, and even the enormous growth in tourism can hardly mask the structural flaws in our economy. One of the main reasons our economy is not thriving lies in our payment behavior. Everyone waits for someone else to pay them so they can pay others. This waiting game often starts with the government, semi-government, and government-affiliated entities. While those on the payroll receive their salaries on time, they leave suppliers of goods and services waiting months for the money they have worked for or delivered. As a result, others are left waiting for them, and the economy simply stalls.
Adding to this, the tax burden in Curaçao is one of the highest. With the government aggressively collecting taxes to pay the salaries of civil servants and semi-civil servants who delay payments, it has reached the point where a business owner is waiting for government money to pay their taxes. It is madness. It is also logical why the economy is not thriving.
The good news is that it is a simple problem for the government to fix by paying its bills promptly.
Miguel Goede