The meeting initiated by the Anguilla Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with the Tax Reform Committee and officials in the Ministry of Finance, last week, was an important one. The Board and membership of the business organisation were concerned that neither the Government nor the Ministry of Finance was proactive enough to call the meeting, but allowed the Chamber to do so instead. It may be a small point, but it certainly has some merit. This is particularly so when one considers the groaning of the people of the island under the impact of the sluggish economy, taxation, high cost of living, growing unemployment, and the need for redress by Government.

One understands the difficulty the Government is facing and the requirement of a balanced budget to finance the island’s public services and administration. But the Chamber’s Board and members strongly put forward that, at the same time, the business community and the people are suffering and their voices need to be heard. The business persons painted a grim picture of the situation and warned that some establishments on which the Government depends for taxes and fees were in a difficult situation, while others were on the brink of closure,only remaining open because of pride. The former Chief Minister was even more to the point when he said the economy was facing collapse.

The tone for the complaints at the meeting seemed to have been unintentionally or unwittingly set by the Special Adviser in the Ministry of Finance, a big figure with the Oversight Group and Tax Reform Committee, when he announced, at the outset, that the Stabilisation Levy Act would not be repealed. He said it would be amended but, unlike at the recent Teachers’ Union meeting, he gave no details as to what the amendments might be.

One may accept, with a grain of salt, that the stated reason for the levy is that it is a pillar of the budget, but it may have been a diplomatic blunder, at the start of the Chamber’s meeting, for the Government official, mentioned above, to have bluntly said that the levy would not be repealed. Instead, there was sufficient reason, to have given the sharp-witted business persons the opportunity to register their complaints first, and to suggest possible alternatives to the levy which they said was a matter of great concern and threat to them as employers and business operators.

The Anguilla Chamber of Commerce and Industry has endured an uphill battle for its own survival over the years, and as a representative of various businesseson the island and an agency for their development. Its responsibilities and demands are many and it must be seen as avibrant and effective force in today’s business environment fraught with an increasing array of challenges for the Chamber, the citizenry and the island in general. David Hodge scored a point when he said that the Chamber must be a functioning and visible entity and must have the support of all businesses to be respected by Government and to restrain the Government “from doing what it likes.” The Chamber must be the police force not only of the business community, but of the entire populace on whom the commerce of the island greatly depends. If the Government does not listen to the Chamber, it fails to hear the travails of the people to some degree.

There have also been complaints by the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association as voiced by its Vice Chairman who was at the meeting. One of his complaints, too, were taxes and fees and the failure of Government to reach out to, and include, the Association in its tax and other related decisions. He even mentioned the closure of properties, if pushed to the limit.Any major upset in the hotel and tourist industry, on which the island’s economy is based, would have a crippling effect on Anguilla, and our Government may well be advised to take heed of the pleas and concerns of operators in the industry.

The Teachers’ Union met just over a fortnight ago, its members all riled up by repeated salary cuts, burdensome taxes and the skyrocketing cost of living which they claimed was devouring 45 percent of their income. Again, the situation reflects the reality of the island’s economic and financial situation, but while the Government tries to grapple with the difficulty it must also be cognisant of the plight of these important and dutiful workers who impart knowledge to our children and are co-partners in nation-building.

Then there is the Anguilla Civil Service Association whose Executive met privately, several days ago, to discuss certain matters of interest to its members, and its reported commitment to the stance taken by the Teachers’ Union. The civil servants, too, sooner or later, may well take their own public stand, putting Government under even more pressure. Not to be undone, are the Nurses’ Association and the Police Welfare Association which are also likely to show some reactions to the impact of the fiscal malady affecting them.

The Government is undoubtedly in much difficulty as indicated above, but it must face the realities of the situation impacting all the people and businesses on the island. Rather than a roughshod, high-handed or undiplomatic approach, it must listen to the complaints and cries of those making them, and find some sensible way of responding to, and appeasing, the situation before it gets out of hand. The admonition of the Bible still holds sway today: “He that hath an ear let him hear,” and since the composition of Government is a group of men, the plural form of the admonition, as headlined, applies.

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