Sint Maarten Stimulus & Relief Plan: an overview up till now

On April 19th, 2020, the Government of Sint Maarten published the Sint Maarten Stimulus & Relief Plan (hereafter “SSRP”). This plan contains the emergency measures of the government to mitigate the(economic) effects of COVID-19. The  measure with the highest financial impact has been the payroll support to employers on Sint Maarten. For the different types of payroll support, we refer you to the attached schedule.

At this point, the SSRP is in full effect. The Netherlands provided (under conditions) sufficient liquidity support to finance Sint Maarten’s payroll support program for the months April, May and June. Many employers have submitted payroll support requests for these months via the online portal.

The fact is, however, that multiple employers have not yet received an answer on their request for payroll support over May. Since the payment of payrollsupport for the months May and June 2020 is still uncertain, it is noteworthy that there is no plan in place for the months after June 2020.

The negotiations between Sint Maarten and the Netherlands concerning additional liquidity support have come to a halt, due to the fact that both governments have put their foot down on specific issues.

Please find below a visual representation of the Stimulus & Relief Plan.