I have read with great interest the two letters of Mr Thomas Astaphan addressed to the Editor; the first letter was printed in The Anguillian on Friday 11th September 2009 in Volume II No. 35 and the second letter on Friday 18th September 2009 in Volume II No. 36.

I must first congratulate Mr. Astaphan for the time and the thought process he has put into the issue of “Government Borrowing”. I agree with him that Government has to be bold and borrow big; $49 Million United States Currency is not sufficient to stimulate the economy and to sustain us during this period of recession, which could well go beyond 2010. Mr. Astaphan is correct when he stated that to introduce income taxes would be an impossibility as it would destroy the economy. The British have taxed their citizens for many decades but their economy still fell into a recession, so why are they sending us down that same road.

Sales Tax

The introduction of any form of income tax would take at least 2 to 3 years to implement, with the collection process even longer. The sale tax suggested by Mr. Astaphan (see letter of 11th September 2009) would be less cumbersome to implement and a fairer means of taxing our citizens. Nonetheless the Government would still need to collect duties from those without an import and business licence. There are those of us who would shop overseas and avoid paying the 10% sale tax on the goods purchased overseas.

The UK Government has no legal obligation

I agree with Mr. Astaphan that the UK Government has no legal obligation to underwrite the borrowing of the Government of Anguilla. In fact in their standard letter of approval to borrow, the UK Government makes it clear that in the event of default by the Government of Anguilla, they are not responsible for paying the debt.

The Government of Anguilla must do what is best for the people of Anguilla

The Government of Anguilla is elected by the people of Anguilla. They are entrusted to do the best for the people of Anguilla. The Ministers must be bold and take the initiative to borrow and borrow big, possibly US$100 million United States Currency as suggested by Mr Astaphan, to be drawn down over a five years period, so that we the people don’t have to go through this embarrassing saga with the UK Government, each time we need funds for the development of our people.

Thank you Sir and thanks to Mr Astaphan for stimulating the debate.

John Benjamin

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