St. Maarten Private Eye

The Island tax and revenue people really missed the boat by not devising an impact fee that could have been applied to all new condo or hotel type condo projects. Many municipalities in the US apply this impact fee to builders & developers on a per unit basis, obviously the builders bake this cost into their selling prices. New developments have an impact on roads, schools, water, sewage, trash removal, police protection etc. A substantial fee $5,000-$8,000 is not a lot of money to pass on to the buyer. It’s no big deal if, instead of $350,000 new condo it is now $355,000. The additional fees help the government create and repair the necessary infrastructure to accommodate a higher population.
Buyers are realistic enough to understand growth of a population cost some money. They would rather pay the money knowing that real improvements are being made and therefore their property can appreciate. It seems that most of the new projects are not yet completed or sold, maybe this concept can still be enacted. ????
JBPESQ