Minister Geoffrey Wever appeared in the Parliament of Aruba to inform legislators about the fiscal incentives the government plans to introduce for Oranjestad and San Nicolas. During the session, we stated that we have nothing against these fiscal incentives.
On the other hand, we asked Minister Wever: when will merchants in other districts and neighborhoods be able to expect a tax incentive that exempts them from paying profit tax for 10 years? Every merchant, whether small or large, located in Pos Chiquito, Savaneta, Brazil, Piedra Plat, Santa Cruz, Paradera, Tanki Flip, Tanki Leendert, and Noord would want a fiscal relief of 10 years without paying profit tax.
When we asked Minister Wever this question, we wanted to know what his plan is to address the concerns of merchants in other districts and when the government will introduce a measure to bring relief to merchants outside of Oranjestad and San Nicolas.
At this moment, the situation in Aruba is explosive due to the high cost of living and the decrease in purchasing power. Prices increase daily, and people have no way to escape the rising costs. 100 florin now feels like 10 florin in Aruba.
Instead of addressing the situation, the AVP-Futuro government has taken decisions that increase the burden on the people. This government has raised:
- Gas prices
- Gasoline prices
- Diesel prices
- Bread prices
All these increases have led to a drastic decline in people’s purchasing power. According to the Central Bank, 88% of survey respondents indicated that in the last 11 months their purchasing power has declined drastically. The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) has reported that the subsistence minimum has increased and families need more money to survive. Many people work two jobs, but their income is still insufficient. The Central Bank has stated that the middle class in Aruba is disappearing.
Instead of recognizing this and addressing the situation, Minister Wever says that there is no inflation in Aruba, only deflation!
The previous government did help pensioners, which the current government has also done. Our government gave pensioners a 400-florin increase, but the difference between our government and the current one is that we also focused on the middle class. We provided a tax reduction that gave 35,000 people fiscal relief.
In contrast, the current government has increased pensions but forgot about low-income workers, the middle class, and those who have to work two jobs. We asked Minister Wever what he will do to improve their purchasing power and bring fiscal relief to this group because attention has only been given to pensioners, which we certainly support, but we should not forget the large group that is the backbone of our economy.
This government has no attention for the low-income worker earning minimum wage and the middle class!