Hi Everyone, Not sure if anyone has read the Bonaire Reporter this week yet, but if you get it, please read page 7. There is a short article there that I found very upsetting about the departure tax increasing to a flat $75! Now, I hope that either Jake or Tish or someone else locally can fill us in as the article states that more info would be on Friday. To sum up the article for those who do not get the reporter, it stated that the Island Council has repealed the per-head room tax, car rental tax and departure tax to be replaced by a flat $75 airport departure tax. Egads! That is a really big hike and it just doesn't seem to make sense for those traveling for a short period of less than a week or just a week even to have to pay that! The Reporter claims to have received a report which was confirmed by a Tourist Bureau (TCB) email. Now, I pray this isn't so! I read this article over and over and even had my hubby read it to make sure I read the thing right! Anyone having knowledge of this, please post as I am curious the effect this will have for locals, and people visiting the island. I have never heard of such a high departure tax anywhere.

No details are known yet... if it is the old proposel by Bonhata (please read IF !!) all taxes (departures, room, Marine Park, car rental) would be in one amount ... if it is the old proposel, there would be flat rates for 1-3 days, 7 days, 2 weeks and 3 weeks and longer ... make a calculation for 1 week, just room tax, departure tax and marine park and the amount will be just a little lower than paying each tax separately.
One of the major reasons is the enormous amount of inllegal rentals on Bonaire (which are even more now than they were a few years ago when this proposel was made) ... none of those (and some think they are more illegal rooms than legal ones) pay anything into the economy of Bonaire behalf the departure tax, which has to be paid at the airport ...
But as there are no details known yet, everything is speculation for the moment, just as the other threat about Euro on Bonaire ...

Oh, by the way, departure tax (just airport tax !!!!) on quite a number of islands and countries around Bonaire is $ 50 or $ 60 .... lots of them even just for transit

Thanks, Briqitte! As always, very informative information. It didn't say anything about an old proposal. This is the first time I even heard of this. Guess we will just wait and see, glad you posted the possiblility of reduced rates for lesser stays too! Of course, that is if it is the old proposal they are talking about if I get that right.

Thanks Brigitte.

Just curious but what would apply to residents who come and go off island for work or what not..same tax?

Ann, the Bonaire Reporter gives no details. Obviously locals who travel a lot might end up paying a huge amount of money per year. Stay tuned.

Thanks Brigitte

The Bonaire Reporter should have known about the old proposal as this is going on for about 10 years now .... last time was I think 4 years ago ... than it even was agreed to by the Bestuurscollege but than not signed by than lt.governor Mr. Hart (who had strong links to the red opposition party .... )
I don' t remember all the details of the old proposel, but it should be available at the Bonhata office .... there was also something in about locals travelling ... but we can also just wait a little and than get the perhaps " new " details

Exactly, Tish. This indeed is very troublesome and I would think it would effect those visitors who come for short periods of a week or a few days as well. And what about those who just want to go to Curacao for some shopping? Just blows my mind, I still think that is really high to pay. Now, I have been to a lot of other Caribbean islands on the Leeward side and Tobago and no, I have never paid such a high airport departure tax. Been quite a few years since then, I just go to Bonaire now, but still Yikes! Last year I went to Bonaire 7 times and some of those visits were three weeks and this would maybe work out, but the other visits were one week and one was for two weeks. That would really stink to have to add that expense when I travel there.

Yes, I will stay tuned. The Bonaire Reporter said it was the Island Council, not Bohata, that is doing this. I didn't even know of an earlier proposal for such a thing.

Ooops, Briqitte, you posted the same time I was typing. Thanks. Patience is a virtue they say, I better go find some.

Yes Debbie, of course it was the Island council (Bestuurscollege) who agreed to it, no other way to change things in any country, but Bonhata is pushing for a change since 10 years and the last proposal was a co-work with govt., Bonhata+ TCB

Unless I read the article wrong, this would be a savings for most tourists, once you start adding the room tax PP per day,the present departure tax & the car rental tax...
I would hope that those who are residents would not have to pay the full tax.

I emailed TCB and asked them about this.

"A law with changes to the tax structure has been approved on December 30th 2005 by the Island Council of Bonaire. No changes will be implemented as yet. The government of Bonaire has not released any statement as yet and all publications so far are from non official sources and are not entirely correct. They would advise folks to wait for official information prior to starting with speculations."

They also said that they will do their best to make sure visitors are properly informed before the plan is implemented.

I'll let you all know if I hear anything more.

Cynde, Thanks so much for this!!!

debbie, i was thinking that those of us who travel to bonaire a few times a year would end up paying a lot more. right now, we buy a marine park tag on our first visit and then it's good for the rest of the calendar year. i realize that making the departure tax standard and having it include the departure tax, room tax, and marine park fee, etc. might make it easier and would raise more money but some people might get charged a whole lot more than they do now. also, the one thing i've always liked about the marine park fee is that it all went directly to stinapa...wonder if that will still happen?

Excellent Point on the marine park fee. Changes to that policy would be a concern in this corner for sure.

Pat, Exactly what I was trying to say, I do tend to babble sometimes. LOL! Cynde, thanks! I guess we all will have to wait and see.

The article did NOT include the Marine Park Fee in its list.

Pat,
Do people who own their own place (like you & Mary) pay the "per-head-room" tax?

we don't have to pay it for ourselves. it's only for when you rent the place.

Pat..I would THINK that those who own property on the island & travel back & forth should be exempt. After all the stated purpose of this change is to catch the tourist revenue which the gov. feels it's not getting from people/places who rent to tourists but fail to properly report the income & pay the taxes.
The government should come up with a simple way to identify these people who pay local property taxes & provide them with a card or something which exempts them. As far as I'm concerned it's really that simple (but then again governments tend to really complicate things).

ok, that makes sense to me...and obviously to you too. however, this is a government we're dealing with, remember. i can hardly make sense out of the government in the states much less one that speaks and writes in a language that i have very limited knowledge of.

LOL, Pat! I'm with you on this one. Time will tell what will happen to those of us who own property and travel back and forth and for residents, and so forth.

While on the Island recently we had an opportunity to speak with 2 residents, not government officials. Both had extensive knowledge of this issue and explained the following. If you stay in a resort, condo or an apartment for 3 weeks or longer the $75 pp departure tax will be a benefit. If you stay for 2 weeks you will break even and if you stay for just 1 week it will cost you more. Also, if you do not rent a car/truck you will not break even for the 2 week stay either. A major issue is the cruise industry. According to these people the passengers do not pay any departure tax. Further, they do not spend money and contribute little to the Island economy. The cruise lines refused a request recently to pay a $2 fee per passenger to support STINAPA.

Right. A cruise ship dumps trash in the Marine Park (per the Bonaire Reporter) but they won't pay $2.00 a head to support STINAPA? Something's wrong here.

George, have you spoken to anyone who owns property on Bonaire, but does not live there, me, for example, how the departure tax is going to effect me, who does own a truck on island and I really hope they are taking folks like me into consideration as well........

Before we all get excited about this, I think we need to wait for the facts that will be coming from BCT. Per the email from them, I think we are jumping the gun by getting overly excited about the topic. There is a lot of hearsay and rumor going on right now in regard to the whole thing, so thus said, I think we should really wait until an official announcement is made, THEN we can all get excited ;-)

I would hope, and imagine, that the government has thought through all of the above concerns...

Dear Cynde, I'm sorry to keep this going, but I was told that Bonaire Gov was going to increase the O-ring tax! Please sat it is'nt so!

(Message edited by bonaire9 on January 17, 2006)

Increase in o ring tax? Okay, now I am excited!!

Next thing ya' know they'll be charging us to get in and out of the giant o-ring traffic circle!

Jerry, that's how rumors get started...LOL!

I was also told that there is a plan on the table to install a toll plaza on the road going to Jokes?

ok, I'm pretty naive... if cruise lines "refuse" to pay a $2 per head fee to support the marine park, and they don't contribute diddly to the economy (basically), and they contribute to pollution of the marine park, can't Bonaire say "too bad, so sad, you can't dock here anymore?"

Jerry, you have been misinformed, I think you are reffering to the tire-inflation-device-tax.

Debbie, the residents we spoke with are permanent residents. I did not see anything about folks in your situation.

Thanks, George, I will be on island next month and will look into this more. Thanks!

The new Bonaire Reporter is not out yet. I just checked online. But the second issue to report on this (last week's) contained a little additional info, which said in part, "The details of exemptions to this tax are still being worked out, but residents of Bonaire will pay a lower figure.
"In addition there will be lower departure taxes for children and seniors.
"Flight crews and bona-fide family members staying in private homes as well as other special cases must also be considered."
The Bonaire Reporter mentioned 65+ as the senior age, but I suspect this could be a misunderstanding because local custom (as in many European countries) is that senior status begins at 60.
I will post more information as I see it. No need to panic!!

Thanks Tish! I agree, no need to panic.

tom, it's 25 degrees, snowing, blowing, and downright miserable here in ohio. i have three more weeks till i can be on a plane for bonaire...panicking is all there is to do right now...maybe later i'll find some other activity but right now panic works....and beer.

Here are a few questions.
What are the fees charged for the Ships to dock?
What are the landing fees for planes?

If the Bonaire Gov wants to increase there cash flow, why not make it easier for us to get there. Almost every flight to Bonaire is full. Not a empty seat! Why is it so difficult to get an airline to come in from the states?

If I owned a plane or planes, and new that I could charge full fairs, had a 75-100% sell rate, hell that's a no brainier!

But for some reason it just can't take place?

Becky: You will find the impact of cruise ships on the local economy is controversial. I don't get much (if any) benefit from them. Very few hotel/resorts do, because they don't tend to leave Playa except on organized tours.

If you ask the businesses in Playa, you will get a completely different answer: the restaurants get full, the t-shirt stands get swamped, the crafts get sold, the adventure tours and things get sold out.

I think it's unfair to describe their contribution as "diddly." It's certainly less than an airline tourist, but still seems to be a positive contribution in my eyes.

Thanks Kevin, I was just quoting what others had said about their contribution to the local economy... but seriously, if they impact the environment as much as we are lead to believe, and STINAPA wants to charge $2 per head, can't they be denied docking priveledges? Or is there so much more to it than that as with all government stuff?

Well, speaking from the perspective of the Cinnamon Art Gallery (located downtown), we sell a handful of $1 bookmarks and postcards to cruise ship tourists and not much else. There are exceptions to these minor sales to cruise ship tourists, but they are exceedingly rare.

I hear a lot of merchants downtown grumbling too about how cheap cruise ship tourists are, so I'm not sure if we're talking to different people or what, Kevin. Having been in local restaurants when cruise ships are in, I rarely see cruise ship tourists flooding them with real business - I've only been witness to them grabbing a table, ordering a soda or even a glass of water, and then leaving.

I do agree that the contracted tour and adventure companies (and even some of those not contracted but conspicuously offering their wares) seem to do good business from the cruise ships, as do the merchants on the "recommended" list (they have to lobby the cruise ships and execute some sort of agreement with certain warrantees, and possibly pay something too to get on this list).

As far as the $2/snorkeler fee approved by the government going to STINAPA, it's my understanding that the cruise ships would prefer to pay a flat $2/person for everyone on the cruise ship as the logistics of only charging snorkelers would be too complicated, but the new fee came after the cruise ship companies had already calculated their rates and fees they would charge passengers for the current season, so the government apparently agreed to start the fee collection for all passengers, not just the snorkelers, as of the 2006/2007 cruise ship season.

Note that some cruise ships, like the Freewinds, started paying the fee immediately when it was announced, however.

Jake

When I lived on another Caribbean island, it was the same. The cruise ship clientel used the restrooms and walked the streets but did not patronize the restaurants (why would they when they pre pay for meals) nor did they shop too much. Most cruise ship patrons wait for stops in shoppers mecca, St. Thomas or Sint Maarten.

When I lived on Playa Pabou I cannot tell you the walking traffic of cruise shippers wandering about looking lost heading for who knows where..

Also, did you notice most of the patrons of the ships that visit BON are really old? Rarely do I see younger people on the ships that come in..

My two cents..

These people are called cruise ship zombies.
If I ever become a cruise ship zombie, you have my permission to PULL THE PLUG.

They are also called "Pod People." This is the main reason we switched from Coz to Bonaire. Too many pod people on Coz anymore.

Jake:I wasn't aware that there was a "recommended" list that you had to pay vigorish to be on.

Becky: I've got no argument with the concept that the ships should pay their taxes.

Kevin... sorry... I was just trying to understand the situation "out loud"... not trying to start anything. I don't understand big business and government stuff. I'm going to shut up now and go stand in my corner

Nothing to apologize for Becky. You posed a logical question.

Becky: I'm sorry if anything I said made me sound upset with you. You posed a logical question (and took a side that many people agree with). I only disagreed a little, and tried my best to do so politely. Sorry if I didn't.

Kevin, just my 2 cents about cruise ship passengers. While we were on the Island 2 ships docked on Tuesday, January 10th. There were approximately 3100 passengers on the 2 ships. My wife and I were in town during their stay and noticed very few in any shops or restaurants. They did buy some items from the craft vendors. I really don't think the passengers could be called "spenders" and they wait for other Ports for their major shopping. We noted a small crowd on Karel's pier and saw only a couple of Brights on the table.

George,

I saw exactly the same 2 weeks earlier. The only time Ive seen businesses there packed with pod people was when the QM2 was there last year, maybe just because of the huge number of passengers on that ship. I've never noticed any problem getting a table at a restaurant when a ship is in.

My wife and I were a bit surprised when a tour bus went by as we were gearing up at Karpata and a bunch of old folks in Hawaiian shirts snapped our picture.

What happens when ship passengers want to dive? Do they pay the marine park fee for one dive? Do they have to do a "checkout dive" from shore?

Kevin... nope, it wasn't you. I realize that when I don't understand something I tend to beat it to death and didn't want anyone to get frustrated with me and my denseness. Didn't want to get foot-in-mouth syndrome... hate the taste of socks!

I was visiting with a friend who is a regular "pod person" several times per year.

She has only been to Bonaire via cruise ship. She stated that the ship personnel cautioned passengers from venturing too far from the ship when they visited several islands including Bonaire unless they were escorted by tour group leaders. She had the impression that Bonaire was a dangerous island and couldn't believe that we actually spent 2-3 weeks per year on Bonaire.

Linda, does your friend have blue hair?

Linda, I think that if those "pod" people were to realize how nice and safe places like Bonaire are..... the ships might be empty. On a related note,lodging for us would be harder to find.

Shhhhhhh!!!

HEY PODDIES, SHIPS RULE!!!

David, I do not know about diving but I saw a number of cruise ship folks smorkel at Divi reef. Some brought equipment from the ship and others rented from Divi but none paid any fee. I asked the Divi Beach Bar hostess if they spent any money and she laughed out loud.

Coming out of a store we saw a big plastic donkey attached to a cart being pulled by a riding lawn mower drive by, sitting in the cart was two SHIP ZIMBIES, mid day sun, no shade, the lawnmowers exhaust blowing in there face, racing around the rotary. It has to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

Coming out of a store we saw a big plastic donkey attached to a cart being pulled by a riding lawn mower drive by, sitting in the cart was two SHIP ZOMBIES, mid day sun, no shade, the lawnmowers exhaust blowing in there face, racing around the rotary. It has to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

Sorry about it being posted twice!

Ah, yes, the traditional Bonairean donkey cart ride...

How about a cart "pulled" by a team of 6 pink plastic flamingo lawn ornaments?

Actually, Jerry, this pod gal is in her mid-forties. What's that expression....different strokes for different folks! I'm surprised Cecil hasn't chimed in on this pod topic....oh that's right, the topic is departure fees.

I believe Linda has good sense there about shippies on islands.

Let's see: guides (and group leaders?) often get a cut/fee from shops that they bring their people to, so 'only go ashore with a group leader leading'. And the ship management likely believes that a dollar spent ashore will not be spent on the ship so why not actively discourage shore-going.

And some other islands (unnamed by me but you know which they are) are unsafe; why try to point out the safe ones, a blanket 'islands are unsafe' is easier and re-read the paragraph next above.

But, as said in a post above, I am not complaining: let them eat their cake aboard ship.

Well, I have to say that one of my best memories with my mom was on a pod...a 4 day trip from LA to Ensenada...it was wonderful. We got an extra large balcony room because she had to have wheel chair access. The ship was beautiful as well as the food and ocean breezes. For her, it was a wonderful way to travel and take a vacation. We never even got off the ship in Ensenada as we grew up in San Diego and had been there done that many times in previous years by car....as Linda said, different strokes

Oh, and back to the departure tax issue...LOL!

(Message edited by cyndelee on January 21, 2006)

i wonder if the reason that the restaurants seem more crowded when a cruise ship is in is because the rest of us are avoiding the streets. we loved sitting at city cafe when the QEII was in...it was really interesting.

From the Amigoe today;

75 Dollars tourist tax

BONAIRE – The Island Council in Bonaire has agreed to introduce a 75-dollar tax for each departing tourist. This tax will replace the car rental tax, the room tax, and the airport tax. There is no effective date yet for this new tax. Even though the Island Council had approved the decision for this new tax on December 30th, it had no longer been mentioned. The new tax does not necessarily mean a more expensive stay in Bonaire for the tourists.

It is even cheaper for the tourists when they stay longer than one week, because the car rental- and room tax is currently being charged per night.

Currently, the car rental tax is 6 dollars per car per day. The room tax is 6.50 dollars per night. The airport tax is 20 dollars per departing passenger. Inter-insular passengers pay 5 dollars. This tourist tax does not apply to Bonairean residents, or to the persons born in Aruba or Neth.Antilles.

Apparently, the car rental companies and hotels welcome this new tax. Keeping up with the administration and afterwards transferring the collected tax to the government takes a lot of precious time. Besides, the hotels and car rental companies complain about people that offer accommodation to ‘families’. There is a great deal of people that offer apartments and cars to tourists and do not mention these on their tax returns, saying that these were family visits. The new tax overcomes this grey area. This new tax is not advantageous for the tourists that do not stay long or for the business travelers that come to Bonaire on a regular basis. The 75 dollars will also scare off families with children and is also no good propaganda for the island, said the opponents of the new tax.

The airport does not want to comment officially on the new tax, because they want to talk to the government first. The airport will have a lot of extra work when this tax is introduced. Also the foreign airline companies have told the island government that they are not in favour of this new tax.

Susan, thanks for the new info. We (the mods) emailed TCB about this a while back and they said that when they had more info (like the specifics and when it would go into effect) they would let us know. I hope they will take credit cards or travelers checks with the new tax, $75 bucks per person could add up.

The current 6.50 per day on hotel, is that per person or per unit rented? I don't see how it's cheaper if you are staying more than a week if it's per unit...if you have 4 people...

The current lodging tax is per person per day. So, it adds up very quickly.

Bea

(Message edited by jonz on February 10, 2006)

Thanks Bea. I never really tried to figure it out because it was part of the nightly rental fee when I've stayed at Belmar. I do remember paying it at Sand$ seperately years ago. So, I guess it would add up. Using my trusty little calculator, if you didn't rent a vehicle, you would have to stay 11 1/2 days to add up to $75.00. And renting a truck, 12 1/2 days to get to $75.00...so I guess a split between the two it evens out.

I wonder if there is a provision for folks who own a home on Bonaire, but live elsewhere. That could sting quite a bit for them if they have to pay it every time they visit a few times a year...

Ok...I like the nice vague announcement: "there is no effective date." Very political of them on that note. So I now have a question, and it is a big one.....1) we have no effective date 2) we have confirmation it is going to happen 3) we have confirmation that it is going to replace the hotel and car rental tax 4) What happens to people who have pre-paid for their hotel and car and then the tax changes?

Since we usually stay 10-14 days - the tax we have to pay would 'buy' us another 3 days of lodging. And, it is a bit regressive since I'm sure the folks paying $300 a night barely notice the tax, but that is not true for those of us paying less than $100 a nite. So, for the 2 of us - the $75 departure tax is less than we pay for the pillow tax - much less the old departure tax and the vehicle tax.

I think there was some discussion in the Bonaire Reporter about people who travel from Bonaire quite a bit, but I couldn't find it. But, since this is a government decision, not sure how much influence anyone has on the final form.

Bea

Jeannie, I'm sure that they will have to take that into consideration (if you've paid for your trip and they change it). I imagine that the resort/hotel would have to refund you the pillow tax

The per person nightly tax does not apply to persons under 12 or 13, so this would be a big tax on children.

Wow, good point Sue

Cyn,

just a minor correction to your above math...

You already pay a $20 departure tax, so the incremental tax is $55, which divided by $6.50 is 8.5 days.

If you assume a couple rents a car, which would bring the daily tax to $9.50 ($6.50/night lodging, plus 50% of the $6/day vehicle), this would change the breakeven to 5.8 days. Assuming a party of 4 splits the vehicle ($1.50/allocated), the breakeven is 6.9 days.

Since my kids don't pay the lodging tax, I have a breakeven of 12 days to get to the $300 departure tax for a family of 4 (which assumes I rent a vehicle the entire trip).

Non-resident owners on Bonaire who come frequently are the ones who really get the fid (a nautical term from my old Coast Guard days...).

Just curious but do any other islands institute such a plan? I have lived in another island and traveled to about 20 Caribbean islands and never paid more than 25.00 as I can recall. I wonder who did the research behind this potential initiative.

Yes, there are a lot of non resident owners who come and go every 90 days and will get slammed.

Is this mostly due to illegal rentals??

The article in the Amigoe says quite clearly: There has been a vote on the 30th of December but it has not been mentioned since ... there are still discussions at government level ongoing about details.
Ann, I have been to quite a number of other islands, on all my hotel bills has been a room tax, but mostly in procentage and not in a fix amount. One island the room tax was 25% !!! Others had 12% , 17% and one a low tax of 5%. Make a calculation on a room rate of $100 a night ............... airport taxes have been $10 up to $50 per person .... car rental taxes between 5% and 20% .....
If I rember well, the hotel tax in Florida is $8 per night and there is a tourist tax of 4% and there was also a tax on car rental... and there is also airport tax ....

information from Amigoe today

New departure tax effective June 1st

BONAIRE – According to an agreement in principle, the new departure tax determined by the Island Council on December 30th, 2005 will become effective on June 1st 2006, said Burney Elhage, parliamentarian of Economic Affairs and Finance.

There is a lot of confusion about this new departure tax. People are not aware of the details, which caused much uncertainty about the decision of the Island Council. The most important change is that there will no longer be an airport tax, car rental tax of 6.50 dollars per day, and room tax of 6 dollars per night. The new tax system is as follows: nothing changes for residents of Bonaire (Inclusive persons born in the Neth.Antilles and Aruba), meaning that they continue paying 10 guilders for inter-insular and 20 dollars for international destinations. Everybody else pays 27 guilders departure tax for inter-insular and 75 dollars (135 guilders) for international destinations.

Thanks for the prompt published policy pasted posting pal

Seb...you are too funny! Thanks Susan and thank you Island Council...it goes into effect the day after I leave.


That darn affect, effect - gets me every time!

(Message edited by jeanineclark on March 8, 2006)

Hi Susan! You got mail. Thanks for the update.

I saw a couple of mentions of a $6 (sometimes quoted as $6.50) per day tax on car rentals. So far I've only seen a $3.50 /day government tax listed on the car rental sites so that figure confuses me. Can someone explain the $6 figure?

Is the Marine Park fee to remain after this "tourist tax" starts? How about the 5% sales tax on car rentals?

Ed, the Marine Park fee will remain the same. The money for the tags go to the preservation of the reef.

For much more on the departure tax topic
Go here

My question is: we prepay our lodging and car rental including the tax. When the departure tax is raised, will the hotel and car rental company re-imburse us for this pre-paid tax?

There has been provisions made to cover this. TCB has the details. e mail me and I will see that you get the info...

Hi Michael:

I've been reading the bonairetalk boards and read that you offered assistance to someone else regarding the new departure tax. I was hoping you could assist us also.

We are staying for a week - arriving the end of May and departing June 3 (2 days after the new tax law is supposed to take effect).

We already prepaid for our hotel, diving, etc. and paid $224.14 in taxes. As well as the airlines taxes, etc.

We are not renting a vehicle (never do).

Do you know what we need to do to assure that we don't get double charged? What type of paperwork I need to show, etc. to prove we booked this in March and prepaid the taxes? I believe we (2 of us) then only need to pay the $20 departure tax . . .?

Any answers / assistance you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Cher4Scuba@aol.com

I have aked TCB to answer you personally...

We've been following the new departure tax issue and fall into the category of non-resident home owners who travel back and forth 5-6 times/year. The thought of paying $75/per person per trip is staggering. Can anyone enlighten us regarding applying for residency?? I vaguely remember getting sketchy info long ago....thanks!