What do you and I have in common? That we probably, just like all other people on earth, are descended from a people that lived in Africa in a far past. Thus considered we are all brothers and sisters. One big family, one big community, but not as closely and not as strongly connected as many of us would like it to be.

In the course of history differences have increased. Differences, for example, in appearance, in color, in language, in religion, in culture, in education, in prosperity etc. And with these differences, contradictions arose: between rich and poor, religious and non-religious, developed and underdeveloped, and, at an especially sad moment in history, also between slave and master, and between black and white. It is especially these contradictions that have left deep scars in history. The consequences are still visible today.

At various moments in history attempts have been made to protect people against arbitrariness of others. And time and again there have been people and movements that tried to take the intrinsic value and dignity of each individual as a basic principle. After the horrors of World War II, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Unanimously.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) starts off with a very fundamental assertion, namely that “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”. But it is also laid down that every human being has duties to society. Only via rights and duties a free and full development of one’s personality is possible.

It is as much fundamental that it is laid down in the Universal Declaration that everybody is entitled to all these rights and freedoms, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status (art. 2 par. 1 UDHR). As soon as a government proposes a policy or law in which, in regard to these fundamental rights and freedoms, distinction should be made based on these criteria, there is reason to worry.

We all should watch government behavior. Every person needs contradiction (the same applies to rulers), every human being must allow criticism and must remain in debate. If rulers may not be contradicted, they become, as Montesquieu has already indicated, quite naturally, corrupt. We all should stand by those who, for instance, suffer from oppression or experience discrimination. And our goal should be to jointly collaborate in order to contribute to a better and more just world.

Karel Frielink

(9 January 2012)

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This will be my final posting for 2011. What a year. It feels as if the whole world has changed more rapidly than ever before and not only as a result of the Arabic Spring and the economic turmoil.

The year 2012 is about to begin and it won’t be an easy year. Many will suffer from the crisis and many will keep suffering from oppression, diseases and natural disasters. There still will be tensions between countries and populations. There still will be war. However, new faces and new voices in the political arena may change things for the better. Let’s hope so.

I wish you all a happy and prosperous new year. Bon aña nobo i tur kos bon!

Karel Frielink
Attorney (Lawyer) / Partner

(29 December 2011)
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Van de woorden die hier op Curacao veel worden gebruikt behoren ‘integriteit’ en ‘respect’ ongetwijfeld tot de toppers. Over integriteit wil ik vandaag niets zeggen. Maar wel over het begrip ‘respect’.

Er zijn veel gevallen waarin van ons respect wordt verlangd: respect voor het leven, respect voor een taal, cultuur of mening, respect voor de medemens, respect voor de rechter, juf of meester, respect voor dieren, respect voor eigendommen van een ander, enzovoort.

Het begrip ‘respect’ heeft diverse betekenissen:

 Aanzien
 Gevoel van bewondering
 Ontzag
 Eerbied
 Waardering

Tegen de achtergrond van deze betekenissen dringt zich de vraag op hoe je zou kunnen aankijken tegen de veelvuldig gehoorde uitspraak: “Ik eis respect voor mijn volk, mijn taal en mijn cultuur!”.

De ‘eis’ doet denken aan de lijfspreuk van de Romeinse Keizer Tiberius Julius Caesar: “Oderint dum probent” (men mag mij haten, als ik maar word gerespecteerd).

Respect in deze zin lijkt niet zozeer op vrijwilligheid te zijn gebaseerd, maar min of meer te worden afgedwongen. Dat afdwingen gebeurt dan door dreigementen van iemand die macht heeft, of kracht, waardoor bij de ander angst, of ontzag of gevoelens van minderwaardigheid worden gecreëerd. Wanneer men in dit soort situaties over ‘respect’ wil praten is duidelijk dat niet sprake is van gelijkwaardigheid. Degene die respect eist, is of voelt zich dominant ten opzichte van de ander. Het respect dat in dit soort situaties wordt afgedwongen heeft geen oprecht karakter en wordt ook niet diep emotioneel gedragen.

Dit afgedwongen respect vertoont enige gelijkenissen met het aangeleerde respect. In onze opvoeding hebben wij daar allemaal wat van meegekregen, al is duidelijk dat dit soort respect tijd-, plaats- en cultuurgebonden is. Wie heeft er als kind niet geleerd om respect te hebben voor oudere mensen of voor meneer pastoor? Bij aangeleerd respect wordt als het ware geprogrammeerd gedrag vertoond, waardoor je je bijna automatisch inhoudt of beheerst tegenover de oudere medemens of meneer pastoor. Bij de ene mens wordt dit respect wel diep emotioneel gedragen en bij de ander niet.

Het respect dat ons het meeste zal aanspreken is het menselijke respect, dat min of meer spontaan ontstaat. Het wordt veelal geassocieerd met een gevoel van verbondenheid en sympathie. Het menselijke respect komt voort uit het waarnemen van de ander en het besef dat die ander een mens is even wezenlijk als wij zelf zijn, en in onze beleving wellicht zelfs meer of beter.

Er zijn nog andere manieren waarop naar het begrip ‘respect’ kan worden gekeken. Respect kan betrekking hebben op een individu dat door bepaalde eigenschappen of handelingen op onze eerbied en bewondering kan rekenen. In dat verband hoor je wel eens de uitspraak dat je respect niet kunt eisen, maar moet verdienen. Dat ‘verdienen’ zou kunnen suggereren dat het om berekenend gedrag gaat, maar dat is bepaald niet noodzakelijk. Negatief geformuleerd gaat het om respect dat niet door pure macht of fysieke kracht wordt afgedwongen, noch voortkomt uit aangeleerd gedrag. Denk bij dit soort respect aan Nelson Mandela, moeder Theresa, Ghandi en Martin Luther King. Zij kregen en krijgen respect om wat zij deden.

Op een meer abstract niveau speelt het begrip respect een rol bij de erkenning en bescherming van de menselijke waardigheid. Die waardigheid mag niet worden aangetast en geniet bescherming. Anders gezegd: de mens als mens verdient respect, ongeacht de onderlinge verschillen. Slavernij en racisme, om maar twee voorbeelden te noemen, zijn in strijd met de menselijke waardigheid. Het respect voor en de eerbiediging van de menselijke waardigheid staan er uiteraard niet aan in de weg dat straffend wordt opgetreden tegen de medemens die wetten of mensenrechten schendt: integendeel zelfs! Het recht op respect kan in dit verband niet los worden gezien van de plicht tot respect. Op dit niveau komen we alle vormen van respect tegen, van afgedwongen respect en aangeleerd respect, tot menselijk respect. En helaas ook het ontbreken van respect.

In de ideale wereld voelt ieder mens zich verbonden met alle medemensen en is solidariteit een natuurlijk gegeven. In de imperfecte wereld waarin wij leven zijn sturingsmechanismen nodig om corrigerend op te kunnen treden wanneer het gebrek aan respect leidt tot bijvoorbeeld aantasting van de menselijke waardigheid.

Respect betekent oorspronkelijk ‘omzien naar’, en geeft aan dat iemand rekening houdt met een ander. Dat is dus iets dat uit jezelf moet komen. Wie respect van anderen wil, doet er verstandig aan om zijn medemensen op een positieve manier tegemoet te treden en deze medemensen in hun waarde te laten. Hun waardigheid te respecteren. Degene die daartoe niet in staat is, begrijpt waarschijnlijk ook maar weinig van de diepere betekenis van het Kerstfeest: omkijken naar en compassie hebben met de medemens!

Ik wens iedereen een Bon Pasku, een veilige jaarwisseling en alvast een heel mooi nieuw jaar.

Karel Frielink

(20 december 2011)

Zie ook het Antilliaans Dagblad van 22 december 2011.

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According to Eric Garcia (CEO Girobank) “we need to be honest and acknowledge the fact that we are simply not ready for independence. Neither financially nor politically. Instead of continuously focusing on independence, our government should deal with the many macro-economic challenges our country is facing at this moment. Curacao’s growth has been lagging behind other countries in the Caribbean. Our poor economic performance is accompanied by a high unemployment rate, particularly among the youth. However, it seems as if our politicians do not perceive the low economic growth and high unemployment rate as major problems which, if not tackled, will lead to increased poverty and crime rates.”

The macro-economic challenges, which demand serious actions from the Curacao government, are: improving our competitiveness in order to stimulate sustainable economic growth, increasing our labor productivity, strengthen our main export sectors and reforming the system of social security.

Garcia: “For that, we need politicians who have the knowledge, courage and perseverance to take the necessary measures on the short term, as unpopular as some of these measures may be.”

Click here to read the full lecture.

(15 December 2011)

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Papiamentu proverbs with English translation

This book is a tribute to the colorful Papiamentu language. A language spoken by only 260,000 people on three islands of the former Dutch Antilles: Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba. Although this language is only spoken in a small region, this collection of proverbs shows how by use of creativity, humor and love the Papiamentu language managed to develop and maintain itself.

In December 2010 an old, no longer available book by Father Paul Brenneker (1912-1996) came to the attention of Jacqueline Bremmers and Bart Landheer. They decided to try and preserve this heritage. After gaining permission from the heirs of Father Brenneker to use his collection of proverbs as the basis for their book, they brought together a team of experts: linguists and teachers in Papiamentu, English and Dutch. They helped to modernise and correct this current edition of “Proverbio”.

If you want to donate this book to schools on Aruba, Bonaire or Curacao click here. On Curacao, the first 65 books were donated to the Vigdis Jonckheer Mensing College on 22 November 2011 (click here for a photo impression).

Karel Frielink

(23 November 2011)

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The Curacao tax reform 2011 was recently adopted by the Curacaoan parliament. The Curacao tax reform 2011 has some interesting features for the international financial sector. The expectations are that more features will follow during the next few years, however, no formal announcements have yet been made in this respect.

A switchover from direct to indirect taxation is already evident in the Curacao tax reform 2011, although still on a modest scale. Expectations are that this trend will continue. Personal and corporate income tax rates will decrease, while turnover tax will increase from 5% to 6%. Additionally, services provided by foreign service providers will also be subject to Curacao turnover tax.

Fully Fiscally Transparent Entities

The introduction of fully fiscally transparent entities, either limited liability companies or public limited liability companies, makes Curacao a perfect location for the establishment of (mother) funds in a civil jurisdiction. Combined with the ultimate protection of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands in case of disputes, Curacao is considered to be a safe and trusted location for funds with the availability of experienced service providers.

Full fiscal transparency means that no personal- or corporate income tax will be levied at the level of the fund itself or the participants. If applicable, turnover tax and or wage tax could be due. For the sake of completeness, Curacao does not levy stamp duty on capital contribution.

The following conditions must be complied with:

• Transparent status only applies for limited liability (BV) or public limited liability (NV) companies;
• A company with transparent status may not have bearer shares;
• The articles of association should contain a right of first refusal (or pre-emption rights clause) [aanbiedingsregeling] for the transfer of shares to acquiring shareholders with an obligation for the acquiring shareholder to declare that he / or she accepts and approves the transparent status of the company;
• The board of directors should maintain a record in which the ultimate beneficial owners who hold an interest of at least 10% are registered;
• An upfront request needs to be filed with the Curacao tax authorities by the board of directors on behalf of all shareholders.

Please note that if these conditions are not fulfilled in any year, the transparent status will cease to exist with retroactive effect from the 1st of January of the year of this occurrence. Limited (tax) filing obligations apply; a transparent entity should annually file:

• A statement confirming that no bearer shares have been issued;
• An list of shareholders who sold their interest;
• A balance sheet and a profit & loss account for that year.

Upon request from a foreign tax authority, this information may be exchanged under the exchange of information act.

Private Foundations with an Effective Tax Rate

A private foundation is a commonly used entity for international asset protection, privacy, estate planning, passive portfolio and international holding structures. More articles on these topics have been published in our legal blog.

Although following the implementation of the Curacao Tax Reform 2011 a private foundation would also, in principle, be fully tax exempt (unless it is conducting business activities), a private foundation may opt to be treated as a so-called allocated fund (‘doelvermogen’).

An upfront request needs to be filed with the Curacao tax authorities, confirming that the private foundation is treated as an allocated fund (‘doelvermogen’). Upon approval, the private foundation will effectively be taxed at a rate of 10%.

The possibility to be treated as an allocated fund (‘doelvermogen’) combined with an effective tax rate of 10% has been created to meet international standards. Various jurisdictions have agreed not to apply local CFC legislation if an entity meets a minimum and reasonable effective tax rate. Within the EU, an effective tax rate of at least 10% is considered to be reasonable. Needless to say that the place of effective management and control should also be located in Curacao!

Summary

The introduction of a transparent Curacaoan entity and a private foundation with an effective tax rate, are new features meeting high international standards. This, combined with a civil law system in an OECD compliant country, should list Curacao as the top location for new funds and international asset protection, privacy, estate planning, passive portfolio and international holding structures.

Jeroen Starreveld - (tax adviser / partner)

(14 October 2011)

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For further information: vincent@elysiants.com

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Let’s talk about winds. Nobel winds. Nobel winds and breezes. Sometimes law even has something to say about the wind, for instance, when you consider building or buying a wind farm at a certain site. A windstorm may have legal consequences too. There are legal aspects involved when you want to connect the output of your wind turbine to a utility grid. Implementing the Kyoto Protocol, which deals with wind energy and air pollution, has legal implications too, in addition to the fact that it in itself is an international legal agreement.

Alexander Mohr is a charismatic, multi-cultural professor. He is an emeritus professor of Corporate Law at the University of Amsterdam and former Deputy Judge in the Enterprise Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He lives half the year in his house in Amsterdam and the other half in his house in Tanti, Argentina. He lectures and lectured in the Dutch Caribbean, Surinam, Indonesia, China and Russia: he went to those countries ‘on the wings of air’. Alexander Mohr was an adviser on company law legislation in Indonesia, Russia, Ukraine, Armenia and the Dutch Caribbean.

Alexander Mohr has a fascination for complex legal matters and also with wind. Wind as a natural phenomenon, which has, in his opinion, been overlooked in literature. He is interested not so much in the “kind of wind that sinks ships or brings down trees, or the wind that penetrates, or bites, or propels driving rain, hail or snow … but the common everyday natural phenomenon that is felt as a more or less cursory and seemingly arbitrary displacement of air.”

In his opinion, we read too little about the wind, the breeze described above. Alexander Mohr read and reread books written by 105 gifted winners of the Nobel prize for literature, many of whom were previously unknown to him. And thus created an anthology in which the wind is mentioned by all one hundred and five Nobel prize winners. As Alexander Mohr wrote in the preface: “Here are some nine dozen pearls of literature, strung together on a – well-nigh imperceptible – thread of wind: a wealth of drama, depravity, lyricism, imagination, romance, humor and other expressions of the spirit“.

Have we been waiting for this book? No. Is it a useful book? Not really … or maybe it is. Should one purchase a copy? Yes, without any doubt. It is the only book that describes exactly how this phenomenon is treated by the greatest contemporary writers of our times. We all experience the wind on a daily basis, but very few of us have ever tried to describe it. However, understanding the wind may help you to sail through life. It may add to the quality of your existence if you try to see and understand the invisible aspects of your journey.

Karel Frielink

(15 August 2011)

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The first episode of the Dutch version of the TV-program The Bachelor on Curacao aired on 11 May 2011 (click here).

And after watching the first episode of this show I can admit: Curacao still is the Pearl of the Caribbean.

Karel Frielink

(12 May 2011)

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Dinesh Mishre recently joined Spigthoff Attorneys & Tax Advisers Curacao. Dinesh started working as an attorney in 2004. He specializes in Corporate Law, Financial Law and Aviation and Space Law. He is a member of the committee of the Curacao International Financial Association for Aircraft Registration.

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