The Ministry of Finance and the Curaçao Tax Department have jointly announced policy changes regarding the imposition of Curacao profit tax, which have entered into effect as of January 1, 2024. The Tax Department notes that many entrepreneurs comply with their monthly obligations for turnover tax and wage tax but have delays in preparing financial statements and submitting profit tax returns.
To combat this certain policy changes are announced:
- Preliminary assessment in April 2024: Entrepreneurs will receive a preliminary profit tax assessment for the year 2023 in April 2024, based on the provisional tax return. Failure to file or pay the tax due on the provisional tax return before April 1, 2024, shall result in assessments with penalties within a few weeks thereafter;
- Revision of estimated assessments: The taxable results following an estimated assessment without submitted returns will be revised (read: increased). Entrepreneurs who pay these estimated assessments instead of filing returns will receive higher additional assessments. An analysis of the past years indicates that this adjustment is necessary to exert pressure on entrepreneurs to submit overdue final profit tax returns;
- No need for extension for final return: Starting 2024, no extension needs to be requested for filing the final profit tax return (which first applies for the year 2023). All entrepreneurs have until December 31, 2024, to submit the return, providing both them and the tax department with administrative relief.
If you wish to receive more information about these policy changes, please feel free to contact Rootz Tax Lawyers at info@rootz.tax.
