Only charge users of the Grenadines Terminal $1 fee

15.JUN.07

Editor: Regarding the one-dollar tax to the Grenadines I am writing to correct two falsehoods which are currently being systematically planted in the minds of Vincentians. Government ministers, who ought to know better, and other spokespersons, are constantly referring to the tax as “normal” and calling it a “user fee” – incorrect on both counts.{{more}}

On the first count how is this “normal”? I have never encountered a tax like this anywhere I have traveled in more than 20 countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and North America. It is IN NO WAY “normal” to require citizens to pay a fee to get from their capital city to their area of residence, or indeed to move about anywhere in their own country. Even when taking the Eurostar recently (the high-speed train from London to Paris that passes under the English channel) I was able to wait for my train in a passenger lounge within Waterloo Station at, of course, no extra charge.

On the second count a “user fee” by definition is for those who “use” a facility and this implies a CHOICE. But herding ALL our citizens and visitors through a toilet facility in order to get to the ferry, is at best weirdly controlling, and at worst, fascist, with all of the horrible connotations of that word! It is unthinkable anywhere that I know that travelers should be forced to pass through a toilet facility whether they wish to use it or not.

The toll tax on some superhighways in the USA has been cited as a prototype. But toll roads are a choice. Drivers have alternative routes available without fees. The London, England, congestion tax is also wrongly held up as an example. That tax is to encourage drivers to leave their vehicles outside the congested city centre, finishing their journey on public transport. But the driver is free to make his choice.

Since the collection of the tax employs so many persons to the extent that very little income is generated, we have to ask – why is Government doing this? Spare us those faulty justifications; we want to know the truth.

Pat Mitchell