Inflation is coming, in fact it’s already here.
We should be talking about inflation.
Because the ongoing price-increases raise our cost of living.
One of my sources writes: “We have published today numerous posts about ocean freight and shipping, because the ocean freight rates are of vital importance in Aruba for two reasons, both to the detriment of consumers.
First increasing ocean freight rates drive up the cost of all imported goods and secondly drastically increase government revenues from import duties thus dissuading the Government from corrective measures.
It is therefore of national importance that this issue is addressed by all stakeholders involved and with the interest of the consumer front and central, both individual and corporate consumers.
Since the Directie Huur en Consumentenbescherming Aruba has become defunct and the Mededingings autoriteit Aruba has been moth-balled, it is up to concerned citizens, private sector interest groups, labor unions and civil society at large to put pressure on GOA to address the issues in an actionable and decisive fashion.
At stake are the cost competitiveness of our tourism and purchasing power of consumers, both vital to the economic recovery in Aruba.”
According to the merchants instead of taxing them based on CIF — Cost of Goods, Insurance and Fright, all goods arriving here should be taxed FOB, Free on Board, meaning on the cost of goods only, and freight will not play a role in taxation. The petition was addressed to the Minister of Finance three weeks ago, but MINPRES responded, instead.
There is nothing GOA could do, this surge in freight rates is temporary, the market will self-correct when the supply chain chaos subsides, this is just as a result of the Civid19 disruption paired with a boom of demand, it will finally right itself. Aruba has to recover first, GOA needs the income, the change from CIF to FOB will cost GOA too much money. No por.
And don’t forget that after import duty, on CIF, the cumulative BBO, paid at least twice, once by the importer and once by the retailer, is also funneled into GOA’s wallet.
GOA has options, tax merchandise based on 2019 freight rates, or set a maximum, even lower the BBO – though difficult in view of the fact they did not keep it separate – but GOA is digging in its heels, there will be no change in the foreseeable future because the apparat needs money to maintain itself.
One of my friends says: Have you seen anything or heard loud protests from any economic stakeholders? They are all dead, instead of reacting very strongly to the threat to our livelihood, they send a letter, they are lost, this crisis is too big, they wouldn’t know what to do, they leave it to the politicians, it got too complicated for island boys.
Same above source writes: “In order for things to change in Aruba maritime transport, shipping and stevedoring and all other activities in the seaports need to made subject to fair competition regulated by law and supervised by an Aruban “mededingingsautoriteit,” competition authority.
Maritime transport, shipping and related activities in Aruba are not regulated and a concentration of activities and international cartels together with unfair practices by container shipping companies are driving up prices of virtually all imported goods in Aruba, thus changing import duties and tariffs will only provide cosmetic relief.”
And wait until the Carbon Emission Tax is introduced.
That tax on the carbon emissions released in the production of goods and services will be imposed on all airline companies ferrying passengers to Aruba.
When?
We don’t know, but it is coming, in the name of reducing greenhouse gasses and mitigating climate change.
