Very interesting article in the Reporter outlining a new entry permit system for those foreigners who would like to stay in the Netherland Antilles without choosing to take up residence. Looks like the sole criteria is a business or real estate investment of ANG 650k.

No other real specifics are outlined but personally I really think this is a step in the right direction which will benefit Bonaire. Hopefully it will be continued after the transition takes place with Holland!

I for one have no intention of applying for residency status (thereby exposing myself to paying more in taxes), but will in the future like to stay on island longer than the current 90 days in a calendar year. This should enable more investors to supply capital to Bonaire's economy and should help it grow.
Just M2Cs.

Vince

Have a look at:
dailyherald

As usual things are not so simple but this 90 days is a real problem for property owners and potentially a seriously devaluing issue.

Also of real concern is that if one comes and goes for short periods through out the year and accidentally goes over the 90 limit would this result in one being unable to use your own house for a year???

Very disconcerting that the specific regulations on this are not easily available.

Superd..yea it sounds a bit bizarre..But obviously no one knows exactly how this is going to "shake out"; or be enforced once the transition with Holland takes place at the end of 2010. I guess it pays to "stay tuned" as they say.

There's a second criteria beyond the NAf 650,000 investment. An investor would need to contribute NAf 50,000 annually to the crime fighting fund. I can appreciate the concept, trying to build some financial support for anti-moneylaundering (or maybe it's just general crime fighting) but structuring it this way is not good from a tax standpoint. Even though it is a mandatory annual payment to the government, it would not be considered an income tax and so a wealthy investor would not be able to take a foreign tax credit for the contribution in their country of residence. A bit expensive at US$28,000/year, even for a "powerfully wealthy foreigner."

is that every year 28,000 dollars besides taxes
es

That's what the St. Maarten Daily Herald article says, but the Curacao Amigoe article on the 9th just says NAf 50,000 without an indication of whether it's one time or annual. I don't know for sure which is correct.


Amigoe

Thanks Bruce for your input. I think conceptually it's really a great idea, but as they say the devil is in the details. If someone has to pay 28k annually on top of their initial investment, then in my book it's bupkis (that's the technical term)!

Vince, Why is it that you want to see Bonaire grow? We came to Bonaire because it is the most laid back, least populated island of the ABC islands. We don’t have a sewer system on the island, which means that we already have too many people, both local and tourists, for the island to handle the waste. We also have way too many cars. This island’s road system was built over donkey/goat trails. It doesn’t take many cars to plug up the system – which is rather obvious with the current downtown parking situation on any given day.
Encouraging investors to build new buildings on the island is definitely a “lose-lose” rather than a win-win situation. There are not enough tourists to fill the rooms already on the island. There is not enough room for all the cars we already have on the island. And the lack of a sewer system is killing the reef – which, of course, is the golden egg that brings tourists to the island. Sorry Vince, but I cannot understand anybody’s idea that more growth on the island is going to do anything good – it’s definitely all bad. (Frankly, I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of a town or a city where growth improved anything.) Even if we actually had a sewer system, there would be nothing good about building more buildings on Bonaire. There is nothing to be gained from that.
And finally, speaking of the sewer system, the hand writing on the wall is pretty clear that nothing is going to happen on that subject until the changeover to the new Dutch/Bonaire arrangement. But, the hand writing on the wall also says that the latest changeover date is going to be set back and set back and set back. Lord only knows when the first dirt might be turned regarding a sewer system. Until then the reef just keeps getting worse.
Sincerely, CaribJim