KRALENDIJK- The Island Council of Bonaire on Thursday, contrary to expectations, did not take a vote again on the new tourism entry tax.

The Island Council needs to vote once more on the regulation again, because after the first vote it turned out that there was a lack of clarity about which text had been presented to the Island Council and subsequently approved. 

PDB leader Clark Abraham is not pleased with the issue of the new tax, especially since Tourism Corporation Bonaire (TCB) is already extensively communicating on the new tax in various media channels. “How can you promote something that has not yet been formally adopted”, Abraham asked island Governor Edison Rijna. 

Old system

Abraham also pointed out that, as long as the new regulation has not yet been adopted, the old one, including the guest tax and the car rental tax, will remain in force. Rijna had to agree with Abraham’s take on this and promised to address the issue also within the Executive Council. 

The new tax is fiercely debated on the island. There are outspoken supporters of the new tax, but also fierce critics of the new system. There is also some irritation brewing within the Executive Council, which has been working on the introduction of the new system for a long time. The Executive Council was surprised by the militant attitude of the Island Council -and especially the own coalition partners- which.. The decisions taken by the Island Council, which at least seemed to be totally haphazard, have caused numerous practical challenges in the new system.

Contrary to what had been communicated over the past months, the Island Council last week decided to not only  increase the proposed amount of fifty dollars with 50% to a fee of seventy five dollars, but also decided that the levy would not be a one-off payment per year, but an amount that has to be paid each and every time that visitors enter the island.