Baker Tilly Dutch Caribbean | Edition 1 2014

Be it personal or in a professional (business) capacity;
everyone has one experience or the other with Tax
Authorities. Ingrid Futselaar interviewed Michael Wulfsen,
owner of fashion boutique Wulfsen & Wulfsen and asked him
how he ‘dresses’ for such an occasion.
ALL DRESSED
UP FOR YOUR
TAXES
Experience of
a BAB audit
“Communication is key”, says
Wulfsen. “Every entrepreneur really
just wants to focus on his business
and doesn’t want to spend too much
time on taxes. In my experience,
it is important to build a respectful
relationship with the officials of the
Tax Authority. This is not always
easy, but cooperation and open
communication are absolutely
essential.”
Last year Wulfsen & Wulfsen
Curaçao was audited by the
Belasting Accountants Bureau (BAB,
the National Tax Audit Agency).
Michael Wulfsen explains: “Initially,
the communication with the BAB
team was very open. They explained
clearly how the audit would take
place, which years and taxes
they would audit and the intended
timeframe of the audit. However,
the whole process turned out to be
rather time-consuming and they did
not stick to all the agreements. In
addition, the open communication
we enjoyed at the beginning of
the audit, unfortunately ended in a
one-way flow. Though we had very
valid arguments, none of these
arguments or other remarks were
mentioned in the BAB report.”
Wulfsen continued to comment
that: “in the Netherlands, the Tax
Authority used the slogan ‘Leuker
kunnen we het niet maken, wel
makkelijker’ (We can’t make it more
pleasant, but we can sure make it
easier). In Curaçao, I sometimes
get the feeling that they make the
execution of tax audits more difficult
than necessary, whereas Curaçao
tax legislation is far less complex
than in the Netherlands or Aruba,
for instance. Digitalizing the process
(online) would already make a world
of difference and could make all of
our lives a lot easier.
Not just for the tax returns but
also for tax audits and overviews
of historical summaries and
outstanding amounts.
It’ll save both the entrepreneurs and
the Tax Authorities time.”
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