The corona-virus crisis support package for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will continue in the third quarter of 2021, the Dutch government decided on Thursday.

From the point of depar­ture that a similar approach is taken for the Caribbean Netherlands, taking the local situation into account, the Dutch government is pro­longing the financial means for the temporary subsidy regulation for wage cost and income loss to the tune of six million euros.

An additional 500,000 euros will be made available for island-specific policy in the area of wage cost and income loss. The subsidy regulation Compensation Fixed Costs will also continue in the third quarter, for which an amount of 10 million euros has been allocated.

The deferral of payment of taxes in the Caribbean Neth­erlands will be extended by another three months, from June 30 until September 30. The time in which the Ca­ribbean Netherlands has to start the phased payback of deferred taxes will also be postponed, from October 1, 2021, to October 1, 2022. The repayment term will be prolonged from three to five years.

It was also decided to com­pensate the islands for an omission in the earlier sup­port package of January 2021 with regard to the exemption of the general sales tax ABB for face masks, vaccines and test kits. The islands will be compensated for the 100,000 euros.

The Dutch government on Thursday informed the Sec­ond Chamber of the Dutch Parliament about the sup­port package for the Carib­bean Netherlands as part of a more extensive letter about the continued support and recovery package in the third quarter for the Netherlands.

There will be a separate decision-taking trajectory for the sector-specific support for the Caribbean Netherlands. The Second Chamber was promised that it will re­ceive a separate letter before the summer about the out­come of the general decision-taking for the Caribbean Netherlands and the details of concrete measures that fit the local circumstances.

Thursday’s letter was signed by caretaker Ministers of Economic Affairs and Cli­mate Stef Blok, of Finance Wopke Hoekstra and of Social Affairs and Labour Wouter Koolmees, and care­taker State Secretaries of Economic Affairs and Cli­mate Mona Keijzer, and of Finance, Fiscality and Tax Office Hans Vijlbrief.

The Daily Herald.