Apple brings new iPad to China after trademark dispute
Apple has said it will start selling the new iPad in China on 20 July, after it settled a dispute involving rights to the "iPad" name in the country.
Apple agreed to pay $60m (£38m) earlier this month to Chinese firm Proview, which claimed it had registered the name in 2000.
The dispute led to Apple's tablet computers being taken off the shelves in some parts of China.
China is one of the biggest growth markets for Apple.
The latest version of the iPad went on sale in the US and several other countries in March this year.
Apple products have proven very popular in China, its second biggest market after the US.
Last year, the release of the iPhone 4S resulted in public disorder after customers, who had been lining up for hours, threw eggs and scuffles broke out at a store in Beijing. Riot police were called in and the store was closed.
For the new iPad, Apple said it would be available for purchase by reservation at the Apple retail stores. It will also be available at authorised resellers and the Apple online store.
US brokerage PFG files for bankruptcy
US futures broker Peregrine Financial Group, which has been accused of fraud, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, meaning it will be liquidated.
Its accounts were frozen on Monday following the attempted suicide of its founder, Russell Wasendorf Sr.
The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has alleged that PFG defrauded customers and lied to regulators.
It said PFG misused clients' funds to hide a $200m (£130m) shortfall.
Mr Wasendorf, 64, is reported to be in a coma at a University of Iowa hospital.
The bankruptcy filing showed that on 3 July, Mr Wasendorf had given power of attorney to his son, Russell Wasendorf Jr, who is the chief operating officer of PFG.
The CFTC said it did not know what had happened to the lost $200m of clients' money.
Media reports in Minnesota and Iowa since February have been suggesting links between PFG and a $200m Ponzi scheme run by Trevor Cook, who is now serving a prison sentence.
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment scheme, in which existing investors are paid returns from their own capital, or from the money of new investors.
There has been anger among investors that regulators did not spot the problems at PFG earlier, especially after the collapse of the much larger broker, MF Global.
Some clients moved their accounts from MF Global to PFG, following MF Global's demise in October.
Spanish PM Rajoy Mariano urges more cuts amid protests
Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy has announced a sales tax rise as part of austerity measures aimed at cutting the public budget by 65bn euros (£51bn; $80bn).
He said it would go up to 21% from 18% and there would be a 3.5bn euro cut in local authority budgets.
The measures are in return for a eurozone bank bailout and an extension to Spain's deficit reduction targets.
The changes come as hundreds of Spanish miners march in Madrid in protest against government cuts to subsidies.
Eurozone finance ministers have agreed to provide 30bn euros (£24bn) for Spain's troubled banks by the end of the month and to give Madrid an ext
The prime minister, interrupted several times by opposition MPs, told parliament that the measures he was announcing had to be adopted without delay.
The package of tax rises and spending cuts would cut the budget by 65bn euros over two-and-a-half years, or 6.5% of GDP, he said.
"The excesses of the past are being paid for right now," he said, adding that Spaniards had never before experienced such a recession.
Without a cut in Spain's budget deficit, public services would be put at risk. Savings of 3.5bn euros would be made to government administration budgets: local authorities would not be able to offer services they could not afford and the number of councillors would be reduced by 30% in some areas.
The door had been opened to a new EU model, he said, and the summit agreements had committed everyone equally.
Spain's unemployment is running at more than 24% and analysts say European leaders want to see a credible Spanish plan for viability and deficit reduction.
"What animates us is the five million people out of work," Mr Rajoy told parliament.
Mass rally
As Mr Rajoy's speech came to an end, thousands of miners marched through the centre of Madrid towards the industry ministry to protest against big cuts in subsidies.
Many of the miners had walked hundreds of miles since 22 June from northern Spain where demonstrations outside coal mines have resulted in clashes with police.
They were greeted late on Tuesday night by thousands of supporters as they arrived on Madrid's Gran Via, wearing their miners' helmets.
Unions said they were hoping that the second mass rally would draw at least 25,000 people.
The miners are angry at plans to slash coal industry subsidies from 301m euros last year to 111m euros this year.
Unions say the cuts threaten 30,000 jobs and could destroy their industry.
The Spanish government argues that it pays disproportionately high subsidies to a small and unprofitable part of the economy.
Overnight the miners streamed down Madrid's streets with their helmet lamps shining in the dark.
Crowds lined the streets, chanting support.
"We didn't expect such a big welcome," said Roberto Quintas, a miner of 22 years from Villablino near Leon.
"The fact that people are coming into the street and mobilising is a good sign."
Manuel Cinoceda, a retired miner from the Aragon region, added: "The fight is for something just, we are just coming to claim what is ours."
Spain's 30bn-euro bank bailout will be the first instalment of a package worth up to 100bn euros agreed in June.
Eurozone ministers must get approval from their own parliaments and hope to make the payment by the end of July.
DR Congo conflict: UN 'to protect Goma from rebels'
UN peacekeepers are being redeployed to Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo to protect the city from mutineers, the country's UN envoy says.
Roger Meece said he was determined to protect population centres in the east from advancing rebels of the M23 group.
Meanwhile, a source has told the BBC the army has retaken the two towns recently captured by the fighters.
The M23 mutineers say they have no intention of taking Goma and want to negotiate with the government.
The Congolese government and the UN say Rwanda is backing the rebels, a claim Kigali vehemently denies.
'New uniforms'
The BBC has been told that Congolese soldiers have been seen entering the strategic town of Rutshuru, 70km (43 miles) north of Goma, captured by rebels over the weekend.
Kiwanja, 20km further north, has also reportedly been retaken by the army after the M23 fighter left the town.
The rebels - who took up arms in April - named themselves the M23 after a failed peace agreement signed on 23 March three years ago.
On Tuesday, a rebel commander told the BBC they intended to hide out in the mountains until they were able to renegotiate a new peace deal and did not intend to take further ground.
They are supporters of renegade General Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Gen Ntaganda is an ethnic Tutsi - like the majority of Rwanda's leadership - and a recent UN report accused Rwanda of backing the rebels.
In a briefing to reporters in DR Congo's capital, Kinshasa, Mr Meece said it had been noted that the mutineers were wearing a new uniform, which indicated that they had the backing of a "foreign country".
He added that some M23 fighters who had defected had said that some of the rebels spoke English, indicating they were not from DR Congo.
"We are certainly absolutely determined to do everything possible to protect population centres against threats by the M23," Mr Meece said.
"We have since the beginning and we're continuing to make adjustments in deployment including bringing personnel that are available from elsewhere... and that certainly includes some from Kinshasa," the UN special representative to DR Congo said.
The M23 rebels defected from the army amid pressure on the government to arrest Gen Ntaganda.
An estimated 200,000 people have fled their homes since April, with about 20,000 crossing the border to Uganda and Rwanda.
Eastern DR Congo has been plagued by years of fighting.
In 1994, more than a million Rwandan ethnic Hutus crossed the border following the genocide in which some 800,000 people - mostly Tutsis - were slaughtered.
Rwanda has twice invaded its much-larger neighbour, saying it was trying to take action against Hutu rebels based in DR Congo. Uganda also sent troops into DR Congo during the 1997-2003 conflict.
--BBC
Egypt court overturns President Mursi parliament order
The highest court in Egypt has overturned a decree by President Mohammed Mursi to recall parliament.
Mr Mursi had issued the decree in defiance of a military council ruling that dissolved parliament.
Members of parliament gathered for a brief session earlier in the day before the ruling of the Supreme Constitutional Court was announced.
Thousands have gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square to protest against the court's latest decision.
Protesters chanted slogans calling the decision "illegitimate" and denouncing the military, reports say.
The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says the ruling leaves unresolved the question of who holds the power usually vested in parliament and many months of legal wrangling over what happens next could now follow.
Both the president and the military will want to show they are in charge, he says, but the struggle will probably be played out in courtrooms and the backrooms of politics, rather than on the streets.
'No other agenda'
The same court sparked the current impasse last month, when it said the parliamentary election was null and void because of flaws in the law setting it up.
The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party - Mr Mursi's power base - has the biggest bloc of seats in the parliament, and the current political impasse is seen by analysts as being part of a power struggle between the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) and the party.
Members of parliament met for their brief session before it was adjourned by Speaker Saad al-Katatni.
Mr Katatni said that by holding the assembly, MPs were not contradicting the dissolution ruling "but looking at a mechanism for the implementation of the ruling of the respected court. There is no other agenda today".
The MPs approved Mr Katatni's proposal that the parliament seek legal advice from a high appeals court on how to implement the supreme court's ruling on the election.
Some non-Islamist MPs boycotted the session, criticising Mr Mursi for what they said was an attack on the judiciary.
The liberal Free Egyptians party said Mr Mursi's "violation of the Supreme Court's decision" represented a "challenge to the legitimacy of his own rule", as Mr Mursi had taken his oath of office in front of the court.
The Scaf said it was confident "all state institutions" would respect the law and constitution.
The dissolution of parliament took place the day before Mr Mursi was elected in Egypt's first ever free presidential poll.
It is unclear how events will unfold as the situation - with the new president elected without a new constitution having been drafted - is unprecedented, analysts say.
At the same time as dissolving parliament, the Scaf also issued a constitutional declaration stripping the president of any authority over the military, giving itself legislative powers and the power to veto the as-yet-undrafted constitution.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on historic Laos visit
Hillary Clinton became the first US secretary of state to visit Laos in 57 years, in a historic trip discussing economic ties and unexploded bombs.
Arriving in the capital Vientiane from Vietnam, she met Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong and Foreign Minister Thongloun Sisoulith.
The US is spending $9m on cleanup efforts for unexploded ordnance from the Vietnam war in Laos this year.
Mrs Clinton will then head to Cambodia for an Asean meeting.
The US dropped two million tons of bombs on Laos during the Vietnam War and unexploded bombs are still affecting lives and agriculture in the South East Asian nation.
The last top US diplomat to visit Laos was John Foster Dulles in 1955.
The US and Laos also "agreed to improve and further facilitate the accounting operations for American personnel still missing from the Indochina War era", said a statement released following Mrs Clinton's meeting with Mr Thongsing.
The two sides also discusssed Laos' pending entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Mrs Clinton visited a Buddhist temple and a prosthetic centre funded by the US, the Associated Press reports.
Another key agenda of the trip, reports say, is the controversial Mekong River dam, which critics say would impact the environment and millions of lives.
The $3.8bn (£650m) hydro-electric dam project at Xayaburi has caused tension among Mekong region countries - Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
In April, a multi-billion dollar contract was signed for a Thai company, CH Karnchang, to build the dam.
The Lao government has pledged not to go ahead with the project until environmental issues have been resolved.
However, activists say work on the project has already begun, with reports and photographs emerging of construction vehicles in the area.
'Pivot toward Asia'
Mrs Clinton's trip is part of a tour of Asia which analysts say signals the United States' growing interest in the region.
"My trip reflects a strategic priority of American foreign policy today," she told reporters in Mongolia earlier this week.
"After 10 years in which we focused a great deal of attention on the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States is making substantially increased investments - diplomatic, economic, strategic and otherwise - in this part of the world. It's what we call our pivot toward Asia."
At the Asean regional forum later this week in the Cambodian capital, where she will join counterparts from the 10-nation bloc and other Asian countries, including China, tension in the South China Sea is expected to top the agenda.
She had earlier urged progress on a code of conduct for resolving conflict in the disputed waters between China and several South East Asian nations.
EDITORIAL: TAXATION AND NO REPRESENTATION
I grew up hearing about, and when I was able to read, reading about the American war for Independence and the Boston tea party affair. The spark that lit the fire for those incidents of history was the imposition of taxes on the American people without them being represented. The phrase was coined “No taxation without representation”! The British had imposed a tax on imported tea which the American colonist said that they were not prepared to pay. When the ships were anchored off in Boston Harbour, they refused to allow them to be offloaded and in the dead of night, dumped all of the tea overboard, and this became known as the Boston Tea Party!
With respect to the Turks and Caicos Islands, VAT or Value-added Tax is to be imposed on us by 1st April, 2013. When the question was raised in the UK Parliament by Andrew Rossendale, Minister Bellingham’s response was that the UK was not imposing this tax on the people of TCI, and it was left up to the local TCI government, whether or not it should be done. What he failed to say though, was that the current government was imposed on us by UK law, because the Interim Constitution Order is UK law. Furthermore, this law sets out a sham, that gives cover to the UK government, but there is no real representation of the people, by the people and of the people in the two puppet bodies that have been set up, namely, the Advisory Council and the Consultative Forum.
The order that sets up these two bodies clearly states that they can give the Governor advice, but he need not take that advice. This had held true on a number of occasions, as the advice given was clearly ignored by the Governor. So Minister Bellingham, you cannot issue platitudes in the House of Commons to contrary and then think that it would be swept under the carpet by the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The opposition to the implementation of VAT in TCI has the total support of all the people here! This is one time that I have seen the people acting in unison for a worthy cause. No amount of sugarcoating can mask the fact that all of the people affected by this tax are in opposition to it. Clearly the premise on which the imposition is being made has been shown to be completely flawed and by the words of the chief proponent, Dr. Hugh, the CFO. It must be said that what has been advocated as consultations, has been nothing more than a farce. No one has said that money necessary for the management of the country and the provision of the necessary social services and infrastructure should not be raised. What clearly is the case is that VAT in its present form and timing is not in the interest of Turks and Caicos Islanders.
VAT in our case, is clearly designed to remove the collection of revenue from those that can afford it and place it squarely on the backs of those that can least afford it, the average “Joe Blow” down the street. In our context, this cannot be fair.
In spite of what Professor Hugh is saying, the opposition to him and his tax is gaining momentum. Mr. Stanbrook, by setting up the TCIBC and employing a public relations firm to lobby for and on our behalf is testament to the weight being applied to the cause. The fight is being taken to the place where it really hurts, at the steps of the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer! This is not something that is being taken lightly. Just like the British aristocrats of the American colony led the fight against the British to get their freedom, this fight did not start with our local British aristocrats, but they have been seen to be in the forefront taking it to the British now! Sam Slattery and Clive Stanbrook, are just the tip of the spear!
When I heard that a member of the Advisory council had resigned, my mind flashed on Joe Connolly! After seeing Simon, who heads up the local PWC Partnership in conjunction with Joe coming out and blasting the Interim Administration from a technical point of view, I said it was Joe because in this particular instance, he is totally conflicted! His firm is giving advice to clients saying that this tax would seriously, adversely impact their businesses, while he is apparently giving succor and comfort to the Interim Administration by staying on, while the Governor is saying that his Advisory Council is giving him total and unequivocal support for VAT’s implementation!
It is now time to fish, cut bait or get out of the boat! We cannot allow these people to distort our economy by the imposition of this VAT tax and when the real “doo-doo” hits the proverbial fan, they are nowhere to be found! This European model of taxation is designed to keep us in total subjection. Those among us who have aspirations to make men and women of themselves can just forget it! There is no way that the children graduating in this cycle can expect to get involved in a business venture and hope to get it off the ground and be able to make a profit from it. Oh hell, I just forgot that the CFO has said that those persons so engaged, are bitching and moaning of the imposition of VAT because it would preclude them from having a reasonable life style because of their investment in a business that is turning a profit. Why should someone put his resources at risk if not to realize a profit? That is not the way of capitalism! But Professor Hugh lost a business, and was therefore has no clue as to how toturn a profit, so for that alone, he has a beef with a successful business.
So taxation without representation is going to be hard to be continued in Turks and Caicos. These fellows are out of the door, but before they leave, they are hell bent on burning down the house that jack built. They are taking the dog in the manger view, in that they cannot eat the grass, but they can surely prevent the cow from eating it!
This is no time to let up the pressure on these people. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel! So let us keep on fighting to get our rights. Do not forget that it is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. Right now, there are many squeaky wheels here now!
by-Royal S. Robinson, MBE
VAT BILL PASSES ADVISORY COUNCIL
The VAT Bill passed its reading with the Turks and Caicos Islands Advisory Council at yesterday’s session on Grand Turk, Wednesday 4 July.
Acting Governor Patrick Boyle headed the session which saw the Bill passed to the Consultative Forum for debate next week. This session followed on from the Publication of the White Paper earlier in the week.
“The introduction of VAT is hugely important for the future development of this nation,” said Acting Turks and Caicos Governor Patrick Boyle. “Put simply, VAT will help ensure that public services receive a steady and predictable income. Public finances have fluctuated wildly in recent times. Under the present system if the money dries up what do we do – stop providing essential services?
“I am certain that the incoming Government in November will be grateful to benefit from such an improved future cash flow. The introduction of VAT will help put this country on a stronger footing for the future by spreading the same tax take over a broader more stable range of sources.
“The introduction of VAT is not about taking more tax, it is about creating more stable public finances.
“We also have listened to people’s concerns about cost increase, making the number and range of VAT exempt and zero rated items as large as possible. We have ensured that the consumer will not pay VAT on their electricity and water supplies, nor will they pay more for their VAT exempt essential items – rice, flour, fresh meat, fruit and vegetables – and a host of other everyday items too. We also made sure that VAT was not applied to resort Strata fees, which was a key piece of feedback from the Consultation period.
“I do accept, however, that VAT will be newly applied to other items by larger businesses that have to register for VAT, such as legal, accounting, architectural or air-conditioning services which have not previously included tax in their sales price and this could make them initially up to 11% more expensive if these services are not being provided to another VAT registered business. But those registered firms affected would also have the benefit of being able to offset the VAT that they pay out to their suppliers against the VAT that they bring in from their clients. We also believe that it is fairer to have all significant businesses here in the Turks and Caicos Islands paying their share of the tax burden.
“The proposed rate of VAT of 11% is deliberately set no higher than Accommodation Tax. Indeed, VAT will replace this and a number of other taxes will actually make administration easier for both Government and business.
“We have listened and are trying to do what is right for the future of the Turks and Caicos Islands. I shall work with the Chief Financial Officer to ensure that in addition to the planned development programme with businesses, that we also reconsider how we might better communicate the undoubted benefits of VAT to the TCI with the consumer too.”
The VAT White Paper is available online at: http://turksandcaicosislands.fco.gov.uk/en/news/?view=News&id=783351182
TCI Government response to the anti-VAT leaflet ‘How VAT Affects You’
Individuals
Anti-VAT Claim: Many everyday items will cost you more
This is not true. VAT in the TCI is a replacement tax. When VAT is implemented there will no longer be Communications Tax, Vehicle Hire Stamp Duty, Insurance Premium Tax, Domestic Financial Service Tax or Hotel/Restaurant Accommodation Tax. This is simpler and more efficient. Upon the introduction of VAT, TCIG will reduce import duties on most goods by 10-15% – so everyday items should not cost more. The Government set the rate at 11% in order to allow the widest possible number of everyday essential items to be exempt from VAT or be zero-rated including rice, flour, sugar, milk and eggs, chicken, fish and meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, infant supplies, personal hygiene products, hurricanes shutters, cement, steel, fuel, property leases and rents, property sales where stamp duty is applied, medical services, transportation, religious services and printed materials. VAT will be zero-rated on electricity and water supply so these prices will not rise either.
Anti-VAT Claim: VAT is worse for the less well off than for the wealthy
This is not true in the TCI model. The Government has taken great care in developing a model of VAT here that will not see a rise in the cost of everyday items (see above), utility charges or on rents. VAT is not a tax on income but a tax on goods and services but, by virtue of being simpler and more efficient, it will provide a more regular and predictable income to the Government. We need this stability to ensure planned and sustained investment in public services which have suffered significantly since the collapse on 2008. VAT helps guarantee funding and investment for essential public series which are arguably more vital to the less well off than the wealthy, who may have easier access to alternatives providers – schools, health etc.
Anti-VAT Claim: Enlightened TAX experts regard VAT as a grossly unfair tax
Unfair to whom? This depends upon your tax expert’s stance. If they believe that tax take from an individual or business should always be minimal, then, of course, they may take this view. If you believe that tax should be used for providing essential public services then VAT is a good tax as it provides a steady and predictable income with which to do so. The TCI’s public income has fluctuated wildly in recent years and this makes longer tem planning significantly more difficult. If income drops, then this must change what and how public services are provided.
Anti-VAT Claim: You should be aware that the global history of VAT is that spendthrift governments (such as the UK) use VAT to plug the ever increasing holes in their fiscal plans and inevitably VAT rises as things get worse.
VAT is a good tax for Government as it provides a steady and regular income essential to guaranteeing public services. The Interim Government has set about restoring TCI’s public finances. It has not been spendthrift. Indeed the anti-VAT campaign said in its open letter to the press on 4 July that “... it is perfectly clear that the countries (sic) finances are no longer in a mess...”. But this recovery is fragile. We do not wish to increase our tax revenues, but rather to make them more stable by simplifying taxation and broadening into sectors of the economy that currently pay no tax.
Anti-VAT Claim: VAT is currently 20% in the UK.
This is true in the UK. But a rate of 11% is proposed here in TCI – the second lowest level in the Caribbean after Haiti. Further, we are proposing a gross sales figure of $200,000 a year which is the highest in the region, the next highest figure being USD $110,000 in gross sales in Antigua and Barbuda.
Businesses
Anti-VAT Claim: it is a major book keeping headache and will cost you more in accountancy fees
This is misleading. VAT is a simple tax to administer and collect. A business will work out how much VAT it has paid out to its suppliers, and then calculate how much VAT it has brought in. If it brings in more than it paid out it submits the difference to the Government. If it pays out more than it brings in it claims a credit from Government. Further, VAT will replace five other taxes – actually making life simpler for business and Government alike. We have also targeted the introduction of VAT mainly at larger businesses with turnovers of $200,000 (and more than $50,000 if a hotel or restaurant to prevent any loss of revenue in this sector). It is likely that these businesses already keep the simple records required meaning marginal, minimal additional cost. Further, TCIG’s VAT Implementation Unit assist will assist those 400 or so businesses who qualify for VAT registration with these requirements.
Anti-VAT Claim: It plays havoc with your cash flow giving you a false picture of how much cash you actually have at hand
This is also misleading. Cash flow is essential to any business (and Government). Why would business not want Government to be run as well as their own enterprises? Also, is the Turks and Caicos Independent Business Council, a group of eminent and successful commercial figures, really suggesting that they do not know what their debts (costs) and credits (income) are at any point in time? This is an immature argument – businesses have a good understanding of how much money they have going in and out.
Anti-VAT Claim: It means your goods and series will cost considerably more and therefore people buy less of not at all
VAT is a replacement tax designed to help improve the Government’s cash flow so that it can sustain essential public services. As such, most items should not cost more. Indeed we have exempted and zero-rated a wide range of everyday essential items to help ensure this. We accept that if you are an accountancy, legal or architectural firm you will have to charge up to 11% more – but, equally, you can offset the VAT you pay on your purchases against that which you bring in.
Anti-VAT Claim: The tourism industry throughout the world as found to its cost that VAT equals drop in sales
VAT in the TCI replaces Hotel/Accommodation tax (amongst others) and is set at the same rate. If sales drop when taxation remains constant then it must be for other factors. The anti-VAT campaign has cited Barbados as a country that has suffered from the introduction of VAT. Barbados introduced VAT in 2007 and continued to grow for a number of years. Its present difficulties are due to the state of the global economy and other factors, not the introduction of VAT. Similarly, the introduction of VAT in Jamaica (where it is called the General Consumption Tax) did not bring about a negative impact on businesses, and has a higher compliance rate than other taxes.
Anti-VAT Claim: You need to be aware that this is a tax much favoured by the EC (sic) bureaucrats in Brussels who would like to see high tax administrations throughout the world
VAT is favoured by those who wish to see planned and sustained investment in essential public services, which can suffer if income drops. We believe that this statement has been made by someone whose politics are set against the institutions of the European Union.
Anti-VAT Claim: Spain is planning to raise VAT rate for hotels from 8% to 18% at the prompting of the International Monetary Fund and the EC (sic). This will kill an already struggling industry stone dead.
Like many other countries Spain is experiencing economic difficulties that are not caused by VAT. Spain has a massive tourist industry catering to every sort of tourist – from the budget conscious to those demanding the lap of luxury. It remains to be seen how any rise in VAT will affect this extremely popular, mature and well established tourist destination.
Anti-VAT Claim: A country like the UK needs VAT and other extremely high taxes because the public expenditure and benefits culture is completely out of control. Island communities like ours are not run in this wasteful fashion.
The UK is also experiencing financial challenges. The Government there has introduced a wide ranging cost cutting and revenue maximising measures, including raising VAT to 20%. Equally, the previous Government reduced VAT to 15% for a period. Again, to quote the TCIBC open letter to the press: “The Turks and Caicos has weathered the international crisis and its tourist industry has shown itself to be remarkably resilient.” But to keep the country on track and to develop in the future the Government needs the stable and predictable income that VAT provides.
The VAT White Paper is available to view online at: http://turksandcaicosislands.fco.gov.uk/en/news/?view=News&id=783351182
TURKS AND CAICOS POLITICAL LEADERS JOIN THE ANTI-VAT FIGHT
Following the release of of an Open Letter to the TCI press, part of the campaign to oppose the introduction of VAT to the Turks and Caicos Islands, we can announce that the leaders of the Island’s two leading parties have signed the anti-VAT petition as well as endorsing the contents of the TCIBC letter on behalf of their parties. In addition an Advisory Council member has quit over the VAT issue.
Dr Rufus Ewing, leader of the Progressive National Party (PNP) and Mr. Oswald Skippings, leader of the People's Democratic Movement (PDM) represent the entire electorate of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The petition has now over 3000 signatures, which represents over half of the electorate, who clearly believe that VAT will adversely affect business in the Turks and Caicos Islands. They are calling on the Government to delay its introduction to enable a full analysis of its cost and potential impact to be performed so that there can be an informed debate as to its merits and value for the Turks and Caicos Community.
TCIBC also applauds the courage of Advisory Council member Joe Connolly who resigned his position yesterday over the VAT issue . According to a statement issued by the Interim Government’s spokesman, Mr Neil Smith, “Mr Connolly has stood down because he felt no longer able to support the Government's VAT Bill in its current form. He understands the Government's objective in trying to secure a regular dependable income through VAT, but feels a delay would give more time to assess its suitability to the Islands.”