On Thursday, 28th October, the nation heard the reply from the UK when Josephine Gumbs Connor read it aloud on Klass FM at a 4:00 p.m. broadcast. Mitchelle Lake and Percy Thomas joined her in representing the Concerned Citizens of Anguilla. “The United Kingdom does not plan to take any steps to disallow this Act,” wrote Paul Candler, Director, Overseas Territories, responding to a letter addressed to the Secretary of State.
Having exhausted every level of civil correspondence, they asked the community whether or not to keep challenging the law fraught with risks, costs and penalties. Passed undemocratically, this invasive act enshrines unfettered powers to increase rates, lower thresholds and remove exemptions at any time. And, it was unnecessary. It could have been replaced with dozens of existing tax adjustments.
“This can’t be just a few of us,” Mitch Lake explained. “If we, the Concerned Citizens, are going to take this on for anyone, we need everyone willing to fight GST!”
As with the appeal to the UK, the Concerned Citizens formally asked the respective members of civil society for their input. They also initiated a survey to assess public sentiments, concerned that many lost hope following the law’s passage and repeated refusals to reconsider the will of the People.
Last night, 9th November, the grassroots organisation met to evaluate the survey findings after just 6 days. Having led previous petitions against GST, they listened again to consider next steps. By 8:00 p.m., respondents crossed 500, ticking up to 505 later that evening.
Of these, 486 or 96% answered, “Yes, I would ask the Concerned Citizens of Anguilla to appeal to the courts to challenge GST on behalf of our community.” While 19, or 4% chose, “No, I prefer to accept GST regardless of its costs, penalties, intrusive powers or unknown future changes.”
Simone Connor, a long-time Concerned Citizen, observed, “We all knew how people felt, but this quantified it. It was important to hear from people just to be sure.”
Following the meeting, Josephine Gumbs Connor summarised, “First of all, we want to thank everyone throughout the community who responded so quickly, especially the hotel association for sharing it with their members – all without time for canvassing. And while we are still hearing from those who needed more time, we can now mount a GST court challenge with this reassurance.”
“This also reaffirmed our decision to finalise registration as a non-profit organisation, first to fight GST and then remain a watchdog focused on critical matters that can affect us all,” she continued. “Next, we will come back to the public to establish a legal fund – and invite charter membership to take on GST and continue to make a difference thereafter.”
Once registration and related formalities are complete, the Concerned Citizens of Anguilla will announce additional steps to be taken on behalf of the community at large.
– Press Release
