Everyone has been talking about the new $75 per person tourist tax that would replace the $20 airport tax. Does anyone know if this has been approved and when it is scheduled to be implimented? Danki.

It is on hold. The official statement is at http://www.infobonaire.com/taxinfo.html

I think 75$ is too expensive ! most of the divers will think twice before come to Bonaire....!

J.J. - The topic has been discussed on BT at length...when and "if" they implement the new departure tax structure, they will be doing away with the current daily hotel tax of $6.50 per day, per person, and $6.0 per day rental car tax. If you are staying 7 days or so, you actually will be paying LESS by paying the $75.00 departure tax.

Here is a nice long thread discussing the issue

Here is another thread discussing the issue

I have now had 2 groups of 4 who were offered to stay out our house pass on the offer because of this. That means the dive businesses, restaurants, rental cars and airlines have missed out on 8 clients for a week!!

For my children and grandchildren this represents about half the cost of a ticket and is a serious reality check.

OK its only one household but it is going to seriously affect our contribution to the economy of the island. In effect it will mean we are more likely to leave the island to see people than have them come see us.

If this is the effect they are seeking they are certainly going about it the right way.

David..Believe me I am certainly no fan of taxation. But, most visitors to the island were already paying these tax surcharges on hotel accomodations & car rentals. What the local gov is trying to do in my opinion is to get revenue from the underground economomy. The downside of this is that the tax is more visible. If you stayed a week in a hotel & rented a car I believe it would work out to approximately the same thing.

My suggestion to the gov would be instead of making the tax $75 it should be $50 (again taking into consideration the extra revenue gleaned from the underground economy).

Not to try and rewrite the previous long thread, but I seem to recall that one of the possible reasons this sort of increase was being proposed was to recoup all the lost TAX revenue to the infrastructure of Bonaire that results from folks NOT staying in "traditional" tourist accommodations like taxed resorts, hotels and hostels?

I'm not flaming anyone's specific situation with their relatives. But do understand the nature of 'underground" economies and the negative hard to document impact they can have.

Dave - Specific to YOUR stated situation, PLEASE-PLEASE-PLEASE e-mail me off-board and let me know where your relatives are finding that $150 round-trip airfare per person to Bonaire (the $75 tax is 1/2 the cost of a ticket as you say), cuz I just might want to get on the phone to that carrier REAL soon.

If there had not been in the last years an ever increasing number of "underground" renters - people who rent their house or apartment without paying the $ 5.50 per person per night tax (and to pay this than to the tax office, the house owner needs a company and a crib number from the chamber of commerce ) because they are declaring their guests as family and friends - this problem could have been avoided.
But when I think what we paid in Florida on room tax, car rental tax and tourist tax (and we were there for health reasons !) , this amount of $75 per person is nothing !

By the way Dave, yes I KNOW what you were trying to say about the cost of all 8 departure taxes being equal to 1/2 an airfare for one person. I was just funnin'.

But it seems to me that if you can afford as a couple to fly off island to see your friends and relatives for whom you have previously supplied free 'lodging', you could just as easily pay their departure taxes for them?

And if I had the chance to have a Bonaire vacation with NO cost for housing, the LAST thing I'd complain about was paying a $75 departure tax.

By the way Dave, I think it's extremely kind and generous of you to let your family and friends stay with you for free in paradise.

I'm a money driven S.O.B. and would probably want to charge them something. lol

Why is it that Continental Airlines advises that the $75.00 departure tax is not such a good idea. Perhaps if you are touring the ABC islands and want to spend a day or two in Bonaire the $75.00 is excessive and looks like the most expensive place in the Caribbean to leave the airport from. I know that money "handled" by the government is very controlled, 3 stamps, identification, all the controls necessary to account for cash flow. Perhaps what is needed is a method to collect the monies in typical government fashion from the resorts. Where does such this $75.00 idea come from? If the idea was coming from those seeking to tax non-resorts perhaps a better method is to go to the rental property sites on the internet and compile a list of those properties that are for rent but from which no monies are collected. But even that will have problems because some properties are rented for a year or so - does the tax apply then?

I would think that a better collections system from all eligible properties is a better way.

With free accommodations on Bonaire, that $75 would be a mere paradise tax ;-)

Brigitte - I fully agree. I travel a lot (too much), and rarely do I pay less than $75 for even a few nights in a city in various tourist taxes - that's about two nights worth in NYC, for example.

People seem to think it's okay to pay high taxes when they are part of the regular hotel and car bills, but freak when they have to pay for it separately instead - bizarre reasoning as it's all just a numbers game.

On most islands, the departure tax is simply included in the air fare (Curacao, for example, where the departure tax is $22 - it's always included in my American Airlines ticket), so one never sees that one is paying the tax. Bonaire had a fraud issue with this some years ago, where departure tax was included in the ticket price, but not paid to the airport, so this "history" has resulted in the tax being collected separately on Bonaire.

This sort of price shock mentality is why merchants price an item with "99" at the end - it looks less expensive and creates less sticker shock - $499 appears to lull people into the $400 mind set, even though it's really only a dollar shy of $500. Ah, the joys of human psychology... (or at least, self-delusion)

Anyhow, considering nothing has yet been published regarding Bonaire's new departure tax re-release, I suspect you won't see the new tax in place before at least August, if not later.

The latest tax details will continue to be posted at http://www.infobonaire.com/taxinfo.html (and while that page has not been updated since May 10th, there's not much news in the last month, as I understand it).

Jake

PS Dave - I too wanted to know where you were getting $150 fares to Bonaire! It took Randy's explanation to make me realize you were using all the departure taxes to come up with that comparison. Bummer.

First, I don't think that there is any chance of you seeing a $75 tourist tax go through.

Second, Brigitte is right, that the black rentals are the real problem.

Third, I maintain that the solution to black rentals is not a departure tax. The solution to black rentals is to confiscate the home or car being rented without tax. Once a few people wind up homeless or without vehicles, the black rental problem will disappear quickly.

Folks, please! The $75 dollar issue is off the table and has been for weeks...As for an update to the web site, it should be done by early next week. The final version of the tax will not really make much of a change to what you already pay! Again...No $75 tax!!!!

Kevin,

I believe a fair number of homes are owned by those off-island (and yes, seizure of their property would hurt them too - but I don't think that such a draconian measure would ever pass muster in the island council).

And proving that someone is running a black rental instead of the visitors being guests or friends or family is difficult.

Could I be accused of a black rental because I have friends house-sit for me and my family numerous times a year? These friends pay me nothing and get free lodging and free use of my cars in exchanging for watching our place, and feeding our pets and plants. We regularly have friends stay in our guest apartment (also for free). Over the last year, that probably accounts for about 20-30 people who have stayed with us (or at our house while we've been gone) - some multiple times (right Seb & Martin? :-) ). Would that red-flag us as a possible black rental and cause seizure under your plan?

The departure tax that Michael says won't happen is unfortunately the most equitable way to deal with the black rental problem on Bonaire, and yes, it penalizes non-resident property owners and real friends/family of residents, but I see that all as one of the many paradise taxes one pays to enjoy life on Bonaire.

But, arguing about it until we see what the next "final" tax will be is really a bit premature.

Jake

Jake,
Whether you collect it from your guests or pay it out of your own pocket is your own choice, but I can't see anything about your situation that would exempt your rentals from paying tax. All you are doing is accepting barter in lieu of cash.

Kevin,

I'm not arguing that my guests shouldn't pay tax. If the tax is there, it should be paid (preferably by them - after all, they are getting the rest of their stay for free :-) ). And for when my or Linda's parents come for a visit, I would gladly pay their tax for them.

The point I was making was that the frequency with which I have guests could flag my house as a black rental, but no renting goes on. However, under your plan for house seizures for black rentals instead of paying departure tax, an overzealous government official could cause me a lot of unnecessary grief.

Yet another reason I prefer the departure tax over your alternative of property seizures, since mistakes can happen, and I'd rather deal with a cash mistake than a seizure mistake.

Jake

I have to agree with Jake, Kevins idea is a bit too drastic for my taste.
I remember quite some years ago a few of these underground rentals got a tax payment form .. some Nafl 50.000 for not paid taxes for the last 2 years .... an enormous work for the house owner to proof he had less guests ... but also an enormous work for the tax office ... and it was never done again. But at that time (perhaps is was 1996 ???) there were soooo much less of these renters than we have now.
Informing tax office or who ever about illegal rental going on is not a nice job for any legal renter .... the illegals are big unfair competion for the legal ones as they have to take higher prices, because it is not only the room tax they have to pay but also the income tax which these illegals are not paying....

Mr. Richter and Mr. Williams I think you missed the basics. Where was the idea for moving the tax collection from resorts to airport? I can't think that familial giving of residences could be more than 1/4 percent of the currently collected revenue - not worth the effort to collect from families or even the "black market" renters. What was the real reason to shift the method of payment? More instant access to cash for the government? I think so. The notion of taking houses or cars away is very odd Yes? Where does these ideas come from?
It is also not good to charged a family of 4 $300.00 if they come to visit for 2 days. Who make these crazy ideas?

Most estimates for black rental income is more along the lines of 25% to 50% of the public rentals, not 0.25%. A lot of pressure from the new tax came from Bonhata, whose members are tired of competing with people that don't pay taxes.

Forfeiture of property that has been involved in the commission of a crime is a common part of the US system. There are many police departments that are funded primarily through selling drug dealers' cars and houses. To take a house that had been illegally rented would be quite legal in most states. Not commonly done, but certainly allowed.

Jake, I never said the tax won't happen. There will be a tax, albeit hidden in the plane tickets and perhaps a small increase at departure that will be paid by all regardless of where they stay. The commitee that is forumulating the collection process and the amounts understand the negative impression that an increase in the departure tax gives and also understands that the burden must be spread equally over the total number of visitors, wether they stay for free or housesit, dog sit or perform horticultural duties, etc. As for forefiting property....I guess if they can do it in Venezuela then it may have some merit although I think Bonare is still a democracy...

Thanks for elaborating, Michael. I guess we'll see what develops and how the masses react :-)

Kevin - equating illegal rentals with high end drug dealing seems a wee bit extreme. One would be a misdemeanor, while the other a major felony, for starters. And using the argument that you could do it in the U.S. (or in Venezuela) does not win bonus points in the Bonaire Government, in my experience...

Mr. Wankel, as Kevin rightly points out, black rentals (rentals for which no tourist/visitor tax is paid) are estimated to be quite high. And if you add to that the legitimate stays of family and real friends at private homes they don't own where no money exchanges hands, but who don't pay a tourist tax (and arguably, they probably should), that number increases further.

Jake

Jake,
An illegal activity that diverts a 10-15% of the island's income should be treated as a misdemeanor? Why?

If there were one individual responsible for all of the amount (and I don't know that 10-15% of the island's income is an accurate estimate), then that would one thing, but it's actually hundreds of companies and individuals (in Holland and possibly in the U.S., for the most part, from what I've seen, which messes with jurisdictional issues too), some with only a few instances, and some who are repeat offenders.

I've seen from your assertion that property should be seized that you brook no leeway, but I think classifying as a felony the non-collection of $50 of taxes from a tourist by an ignorant tourist renter rather extreme.

On the flip side, dealing large quantities of drugs is a felony, but does not involve any diverting of money from the government (and if the government had a spine, it would legalize drugs and tax them as a revenue source instead). But that's beside the point.

When I was on the Board of BONHATA, in a different life, many years ago, we discussed this same issue, and one idea we had was educating the consumer more about this topic to advise them that staying in an illegally operated rental put them at risk, personally and financially. Sadly, that effort went nowhere.

In any event, I hope whatever the steering committee working on version 3.0 of the departure tax comes up with will be equitable, and help make legal rentals financially more competitive with the illegals. But, who knows, it could backfire too. Might be that people who had concerns about staying at an illegal rental will sleep easier knowing they are paying their fair share in tourist taxes :-)

Jake

PS BTW, as a clarification, an "illegal" rental, as I use the term, is a commercial, for-profit rental of a house or apartment which is not registered with DEZA and the Bonaire Chamber of Commerce for that purpose, and thus pays no tourist tax to the government, and is also not inspected for safety by DEZA.

Yes, Jake ... these illegal renters are mostly Dutch and US citizens with some very few others like German, Italian, Venezuelan etc

If it is as you say 25%-50% Mr. Williams then it maybe the majority of tourist dollars not depending upon whether "white hat" or "black hat". If 1/2 of all tourist money comes from the "dark side" then perhaps something is more wrong with this Bonhata and much care must be taken with what is an idea from them.

Mr Richter would charge his mother and father to stay at his house so the Bonhata can feel good. This is verucht. What is such a place

Mr.VonWankel, Bonhata is just a hotel association - it does not collect tourist taxes and membership is volontary.
The problem is that people from other countries, as said before mostly Dutch and US, are buying houses on Bonaire and than rent them without paying the $ 5,50 per person per night to the tax office (but some/few of them do collect that money from the tourist !). So if you want to blame somebody, blame those people who just profit from Bonaire without paying their due... and than have no problem to blame the island government for bad roads etc.....
And I am with Jake, I would have no problem to pay for my family the departure tax because the island needs more income and I don't like unfair competition.

Ms. Kley not for the departure but for visiting my family. If mother is ill she would stay with me for 1/2 year while she gets better I would pay Bonhata/government $990.00 for her too be with my care. Mr Gaynor say the committee meeting now to make new ideas. My idea form another Bonhata - BesserHata that makes better ideas - not quasi government hiding. I research many websites have propaganda for Bonaire Bed und Breakfast seems like very nice properties that are not like hotels. I think resorts must learn to live with others - not push government to make ideas to make them "black hats" - there appears to be much revenue from "black hats" diving, food, cars. This money is no good for Bonaire?

I'd like to add a slightly different view on the $5.50 pp/pd tax. I stay at Bonaire Town Homes, and Benny is diligent about collecting/paying the tax. This means that when 4 of us are in a two bedroom unit (which happens part of my six week stay), we are paying $22 per day in tax -- when the rental of the unit is only $80 per day. This seems out of proportion.

For me, I'd prefer to see a percentage tax on the unit rental, as most cities charge on hotel rooms, so that those who need budget accommodations aren't hit with the same tax as luxury places -- this doesn't feel fair to me.

Certainly, as a long-time visitor, the $75 pp tax is very attractive to me. Oh, well, doesn't look as if it would happen. Either way, I'll still be coming to Bonaire ... can't imagine a year without a visit.

Yes but Josie, ask Benny this..he told me the last meeting he went to at Jong Bonaire provided info that he NOW may have to pay 5% tax if the other taxes are waived...let's wait and see. It works for some and not for others.