There are two types of limitations in the tax and collection laws which forces the Inspectorate and Receiver’s office to act on time or lose the ability to act.
First type; the Inspectorate loses the right to make an assessment. Have you ever received a huge assessment in December for a tax year five years before?
That is because the Inspector is trying to send as many assessments as possible, correct or incorrect, but within five years after the tax year. If he misses that deadline, he can no longer send an assessment for that year.
One exception is if the Inspector finds out that the tax payer has been deliberately defrauding the Government, then the tax Inspector is able to lengthen the period he can levy in from five years to ten years. Insofar the ability to levy or assess a tax payer, by the tax inspector and statute of Limitation.
Second type; the receiver, like all debt collectors, is limited to the period within which he can collect a debt. In the case of the receiver, it is five years. Once a collection action has been taken, e.g. a summons has been served, the five-year period restarts.
Appealing statute of limitation.
Legally statute of limitations can be instated, “passively” or “actively”. Meaning the Receiver can passively apply the rule that after five years collection will cease, or the debtor has to actively request the application of statute of limitation.
In Sint Maarten it is advised to actively request statute of limitation.
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