On 16th December, 1773, a group of disgruntled colonists, disguised as Mohawk Indians, stormed aboard three ships moored in Boston Harbour and dumped 342 chests of tea belonging to the British East India Company into Boston Harbour. The dumping of tea was an act of defiance against a tyrannical King George III: “Taxation Without Representation.”
It is often said that every five hundred years, history repeats itself. Well, here we are some 250 years later, and if the past is prologue, history is indeed about to repeat itself. Once again, Great Britain is embroiled, though somewhat indirectly, with Anguilla, one of its Overseas Territories, with the same issue: taxation.
With great trepidation, I put pen to paper concerning what I see as an existential threat to my homeland. It is appalling that this issue of taxation has been allowed to get to this point. Not only is it abhorrent, but it is also downright scandalous, given who wrote the bill and the politicians who passed it into law. Now, it is suspected that the law was written by the AG, who hails from the island of Grenada, not one of our friendlier West Indian cousins when we needed them. Instead, they sided with Robert Bradshaw during our revolution.
A little history is needed to understand how we got to this point. Anguilla, a nation that just celebrated its fifty-fifth anniversary, should be farther along. But, sadly, that hasn’t been the case. Instead, we have been the unwitting victims of a series of incompetent governments that were only concerned with their well-being.
Anguilla is still reeling from two destructive category five hurricanes, Luis and Irma, and a pandemic COVID-19 – which further complicated matters that much more, shutting down the island and, in the process, putting a strain on an already over-extended treasury.
While the mother countries of St. Martin/St. Maarten, both French and Dutch, were quick to come to the aid of their overseas territories, the United Kingdom, our mother country, was slow to respond. When they did show up, it was in the person of Boris Johnson, who has since referred to us in the overseas territories as flag-waving piccaninnies, and we all know what nationalist Johnson meant by that slur. So, one could surmise that a confluence of events led us to this time and place. We found ourselves at the mercy of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
In exchange for aid, Premier Banks was forced, or had, to agree to a series of changes in the way things were being done, the most egregious of which turned out to be a regressive tax called GST: goods and service tax.
Fast forward to election day, Mr. Banks was replaced by Dr. Lorenzo Webster, a highly recognised ENT specialist from Palm Beach, Florida. The second time proved to be the charm for Dr. Webster.
Swept into office on the promise that “change can’t wait,” Dr. Webster’s party, the APM, an iteration of the late Hubert Hughes’ Anguilla United Movement, won seven of the eleven seats and, with the majority, formed the new government. I won’t go into what transpired next, only that what was done was done in secret, much to the detriment of those who voted for Dr. Webster and company.
As I alluded to earlier, Mr. Banks’ government found itself on the receiving end of a lot of misfortune and consequently had to go to England hat in hand. The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office no doubt saw an opportunity to force the Anguillian Government to do, what they always wanted it to do and pounced upon the chance in exchange for a mere measly one hundred million EC dollars, with strings attached, of course.
Mr. Banks, overly anxious for any kind of assistance, signed off on whatever it was that the Brits were selling. But unfortunately for Mr. Banks, he would not be returned to the office, which left the incoming government, headed by Dr. Webster, to navigate a deal that he did not sign up for but could accept or reject the said agreement, with dire consequences.
So now the time has come to pay the piper, and we, the people, don’t like it one bit. Our government is ready to enforce GST, a tax incompatible with Anguillians. To begin with, no one knows precisely how this will work. The government did a poor job of educating the people about precisely what they needed to do.
On an island like Anguilla, whose only natural resource is tourism, everyone knows tourism can be fleeting, and that’s where we have all our eggs. I’m told we need to generate 22 million dollars, and GST is how the government thinks it can create that kind of money. Maybe the Premier will wave a magic wand, and the money will appear.
We have lived beyond our means for a very long time and, as the saying goes, the chickens have come home to roost. We have no industry, so where are we supposed to generate that kind of money? And to top it off, Inland Revenue has mailed out threatening letters that promise fines, jail, or both.
Just think for a moment. It’s a government’s job to see to the welfare of its people – that they are fed, clothed, and have access to the amenities of everyday living, not just for the affluent few, but for everyone. When that doesn’t happen, then it’s time for that government to go, whether by recall, no confidence, or civil disobedience.
So, let’s pause for a moment and try to assess what’s going on here. Is GST merely a law to fill a financial gap, or is it the first step in the deconstruction of Anguilla? What happens when you fail to accede to the government’s wishes? Do we have the intestinal fortitude to tell the Brits what they can do with themselves? Can we once again summon the Barbados moment when we tell them thanks, but no thanks?
As we stand idly by and watch an incompetent government work against our best interests, someone must step forward and stop this. Our government has lied to us. They’ve made promises, none of which they’ve kept. They’ve promised better and affordable healthcare, and not only has it not happened, but healthcare is also unaffordable and in chaos. The island has been without a surgeon for the longest while now. The agency procuring such help will quibble over an airline ticket but has no problem paying a Caribbean national 40 thousand a month to run NCBA. Did we not have a qualified Anguillian to fill that job?
I’ve always advocated for our young people to get involved in their government because if Anguilla is ever to get out of this cycle of oligarchic rule, our young people must step up, but not so that their parents can live vicariously through them. If the parents want to be in politics, let them run. Don’t try to live through their kids. Instead, our young must educate themselves to take their rightful places on the global stage. You must learn your craft to be a pilot, doctor, or lawyer. Politics is the only job where any lunatic who doesn’t have a clue can be elected because he is someone’s friend or cousin. We must stop this nonsense.
Let us select someone not because of who they are, but because of what they can do for the country. As John Kennedy famously said: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” What are we doing for our country? Who will put the country above self? We need our version of a young Karl Hudson Phillips to represent us. Who will grab the baton?
Our government has failed us. It lacks the compassion needed to govern, so the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question we always ask ourselves is, where we go from here? The Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carrol’s “Alice in Wonderland” was said to have told Alice that “if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” So, my fellow Anguillians, do we pick a road less travelled or continue following the one that leads us to destruction?
Once again, it is 1773, only this time it is our elected marionettes doing the bidding of the United Kingdom. But, unfortunately, given what we’ve seen so far, they don’t have a clue about what they have done to us and, as the saying goes, “He who does not learn from history is doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.”. So, who will put a stop to this madness?
As we brace for the onslaught – that is GST – we can be sure that it is the first step in a much larger scheme, that of land tax. We are a unique people who were fortunate enough to have inherited what everyone seems to want right now: our land. When we cannot come up with the 22 million dollars that GST is supposed to generate, how long do you think it will be before our land is taxed. My fellow Anguillians, let us not take our eyes off the ball. Just today, the indigenous people of Ecuador are protesting rising fuel costs, inflation, and poverty. Similarly, we face the same situation in Anguilla. What will we do? Will we hold our government accountable, or will we just keep our mouths shut as usual? We pay Caribbean nationals ungodly sums of money for jobs Anguillians are more than qualified to do. Salaries should be commensurate with skills and economic standings. When will we start looking out for our own? Until all these injustices are corrected, we will never get out of this abyss we find ourselves in.
Once again, I use the words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy in his inauguration speech: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” And again, my fellow Anguillians, what are you willing to do for your country? So, till next time, may God bless us all, and may he continue to bless Anguilla.
