I had my yard landscaped in Feb of 2002 and paid quite a bit in taxes. My landscaper said that since I am not a resident there, I can file to get that tax money back. Does anyone know where I would go to file for a refund and if there is deadline?

Is the land on Bonaire?

yes

Hi Ann.

It may all depend on how the money was collected. I'm interested to know how you come out on this. We have made some improvements to our situation on the island, and would like to get some relief. I believe there is a 5% sales tax on everything, but I'm not totally sure. Perhaps Dr. Jake can point us all in the right direction on this.

The Clownfish.

Have you contacted a Certified Public Accountant?

You definitely need to speak with a professinal here on Bonaire. Just because it's an island doesn't mean that the tax system and structures are 'laid back'--my very basic (as a tax-paying resident) understanding, is that if you earn income here, and pay local wage taxes, et al, then you can deduct (expense) any home improvements like you deduct home mortgage interest payments in the US. There are incentives to home maintenance here, but they may be different for non-residents, etc. I highly recommend Compact-S. We've used them for many years, and they're very familiar with all types of situations. And you can e-mail them!

Contact info: compact-s@bonairelive.com

Hi Ruth.

Thanks for the information. How's everything going for you and your restaurant(s)? We hope to come down in Feb. - by early spring at least. Take care.

Brian.

A question...re health insurance. What health insurance coverage do U.S. citizens have if they become permanent residents in Bonaire? As far as I know, U.S. insurance companies won't cover anyone living outside the U.S. (unless the premiums are outrageous and, even then, I'm not sure if they provide coverage at all). How does this affect those under 65 or those over 65 years of age. My husband and I had to have some medical treatment when we were in Bonaire on several occasions and the cost was so reasonable we never even sent claims to our U.S. insurance co. Thanks.
Carol Collins

Carol,

We use IM Global - http://www.imglobal.com - which provides catastrophic coverage for U.S. citizens living outside the U.S. It's a $1000 deductible/person. Works out to about $300/month for our whole family right now. Came in handy with my shoulder operation and Linda's knee surgery last year.

Jake

Ann..Prior to this year if you owned a home on Bonaire you were required to pay a tax on income you either received or could have received if you rented out your house. Even if you did not receive any rental income a tax was levied based on a percentage of the market value of your home. Any costs of improvements or maintenence including taxes on such would be used as a deduction in calculating the tax. That may be what your landscaper was refering to..

Thanks Jake. Very interesting. I have an employer-sponsored plan (they pay half) and it still costs me $250 per month for husband/wife coverage. Of course the deductible is only $150 per year per person. The medical insurance was an important consideration in the event we ever decided to move to Bonaire.
Carol

Hi Carol,

If you have health insurance coverage in the US, do not ever cancel it or let it lapse--keep it even if you live here, in case you need to go back to the US for treatment, specialists, prescriptions.... (and save money for flights, an ambulance flight from here to Miami is about $10k). Our health care is very reasonable, compared to the US, but also limited (and insurance companies here also have exclusions for pre-exisiting conditions, or may refuse to accept you as a client, etc). Blood/lab work and medications can run into the hundreds easily though.

For example, we have no specialists on the island-so if you need to see an orthopedic dr, etc, you must fly to Curacao, or wait until he comes to Bonaire (appx 1x/month). With local health care coverage, your plane ticket & dr. appt in Curacao would be covered. But not any other expenses, like car-rental, taxi, etc. If you need to be in the big hospital in Curacao (St. Elizabeth's), only the first class rooms have a/c (and these are limited). There are smaller hospitals/clinics in Curacao with nicer rooms (with a/c), but not all surgeries are possible in these. And not everyone speaks English. Also, the latest drugs are not approved/available here until years after they're available in the US.

You must really consider your health situation carefully, and try to predict the future. Ask yourself, if the worst happened, and I had no insurance to go back to in the US, would I want to be put into a long-term care facility here (where few if any would speak English), or in the US?

There's an awful lot to consider, especially the part about not canceling your policies in the US (only because they may not take you back in the future, or only at very high rates & exclusions).

Unfortunately, I speak from much experience above, but also have been lucky to have received excellent care both here and in Curacao.

Ruth
ps-Brian, we're pretty good now, not much time to be otherwise, with 2 restaurants! See you in 2003.

Ruth...

Great information and advice. You've answered quite a few questions for us. It looks like we'll have to be satisfied with our month or so each year on that beautiful island.

Thanks.

Carol

Living outside the US is not for the faint of heart.......

Ah yes, the voice of experience. Everything Ruth has said is right on the money and I do concur with her re the qualitity of health care. My two "experienes" were handled by Dick van de Vaart and I am living proof of the top notch treatment given by the medical system here. I must warn folks, however, it is not the same systerm of care as in the US and emergency and trauma are two areas where we need to have some attention. Most of the serious cases are sent to Curacao aboard the air ambulance.