Sint Maarten Airbnb Tax: "The Main Complication Is Our Law," Minister Says as Rental Bill Waits on Finance

Sint Maarten's Airbnb tax is stuck on a problem the government now names out loud. At the Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday, October 28, Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten said of taxing short-term rentals: "The main complication is our law." The amendment sits with Legal Affairs and needs input from Finance. There is no rate and no date.

If you own a condo in Maho or Simpson Bay and rent it by the week, or you are running the numbers on one, that is the news. The rules are going to change, and nobody can yet say how.

What happened

• October 28: The minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication told reporters her ministry drafted an amendment and sent it to Legal Affairs. Because it concerns taxation, Finance must review it first, SMN News reported.

• Still ahead: the Council of Advice, the Social Economic Council and Parliament.

• Not announced: a new rate, a date, an enforcement programme, an estimate of lost revenue, or any blanket exemption for Airbnb operators or foreign owners.

• November 1: A Daily Herald editorial said the minister confirmed that owners who approach the Tax Office to pay tax on rental income are told there is "no legal basis for such." They can pay only by setting up a company that receives the income and pays turnover tax. Many foreign owners are not in the Tax Registry and have no CRIB number.

• Finance: Minister Marinka Gumbs says the issue is now part of the Tax Transformation Programme, following advice from the IMF and Cartac, the Herald reported.

The numbers on the table

• More than 3,000: homes in short-term rental activity, the minister's own figure from a February briefing.

• About Cg 40 million a year: MP Raeyhon Peterson's estimate of what a rental tax could raise, given in the August budget debate without a calculation. The minister spoke of "tens of millions." Both are projections.

• 5%: the current accommodation tax, which the minister calls the lowest in the Caribbean. She put the regional average at about 12.1% in February.

• 8%, 10%, 12%: the phased steps discussed for the hotel tax in August, after stakeholder consultation. Nothing has been decided.

• January 2027: the target the Finance Minister gave Parliament in August for a separate visitor levy, subject to finishing the legislation.

The timeline explains the frustration. The drafting was assigned in March 2025 and a draft reached Legal Affairs by October 2025, according to the minister. The Herald counts at least four consecutive governments that have tried to tax these rentals.

Why it matters for Sint Maarten rental owners

Start with the guest bill. We do not know the rate the bill will carry, so treat this as arithmetic, not a forecast. On a $4,000 booking, 5% adds $200. At 12%, it adds $480. Guests compare the total price, so part of that increase can come out of the owner's nightly rate.

Next, collection. The bill would let platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com collect the guest tax and pay it to government. That is simple for a listing on those platforms. How direct bookings and repeat guests will be handled is an open question.

Then the owner's file. Without a CRIB number, a foreign owner has no easy way to pay anything locally. Expect that to become the first thing a tax inspector, a platform or a future buyer's notary asks about.

The bigger line may be the quieter one. The minister said government is looking at condominiums, foreign home ownership and real-estate legislation together, and that they should complement one another. No details were given. If you are a foreign buyer, that is the sentence to watch.

Curaçao is on the same road. The Committee for Financial Supervision has urged it to set a structural policy for Airbnb and similar platforms, according to the Herald.

Our read

Do not read "no legal basis" as "no tax." In February the same minister said foreign owners who rent condos short-term have an obligation to pay applicable taxes under current laws. The two statements do not sit easily together, and that gap is the real problem. Rental income is taxable here, and an owner should plan on that.

We run rental management on this island, and our advice to clients is plain. Budget as if a guest tax is coming. A condo that only works at zero tax is not a good purchase. Keep clean records of every booking, get your tax identification in order, and ask a local tax adviser now whether holding personally or through a company suits you. This is not tax advice.

Buyers should not panic either. A clear law, with hotels and homes on the same footing, would be easier to underwrite than today's grey area. If you want to test a rental forecast against a higher tax, our property management team will run it with you.

Sources: SMN News, October 28, August 26 and September 1, 2026; The Daily Herald, November 1, 2026; The People's Tribune, February 11, 2026.