The announcement by Cayman’s premier, Hon McKeeva Bush to place a payroll tax on work permit holders has caused a wave of discussion today.

The word “tax” strikes such an arrow into the heart of everyone living in the Cayman Islands that the premier had to come up with a name that would be palatable to the community at large. He came up with the almost endearing title, “Community Enhancement Fee”.

Although putting the blame on the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, they have never actually demanded the Cayman islands adopt a taxation system, they have merely advised we do it.

On our front page we have published a statement from Cayman Finance with a warning, “[We] have some serious concerns about what is being proposed and its potential negative impact on the financial services industry and the Cayman Islands as a whole.”

They further noted, “the Cayman Islands is already a relatively expensive place to do business, in particular in regards to work permit fees and trade and business licenses.  The proposed tax will undoubtedly lead to a further increase in the burden faced by all businesses in the Cayman Islands, despite the suggested optional pension contributions for expatriates.”

In an article by Chuck Roger published in “American Thinker” almost a year ago, he made the statement “high taxes were bad” whilst “low taxes encourage growth.”

He is absolutely correct. The quickest way out of this recession is to encourage growth in our economy. I quote more from this article:

“Between 1980 and 2007, compared to the ten most-taxed metropolitan areas, America’s ten least-taxed metropolitan areas experienced three times faster population growth, 2.7 times faster employment growth, and twice as great an increase in personal income.  In the latest Cato Journal, economist Dean Stansel observes:

“If high-tax, low-growth metro areas like Detroit, Milwaukee, Buffalo, and Syracuse want to be more like high-growth areas such as Dallas, Tampa, San Antonio, and Austin, they should lower their onerous burden of taxation and bring spending under control.”

Did you notice the end of the last line? “Bring spending under control.”

That is the crux of our problem. We spend too much. The very last thing we should be doing is suffocating the prosperity that we have enjoyed here for years. The idea of bringing in this community enhancement fee will NOT enhance any of us living here.

I leave you with the final quote from the article:

“Progressive politicians seek control over others using government force.  These hopelessly misguided creatures will always need more and more of other people’s money to fund a quest for relevance in their own lives.

Note: The whole article can be found at:

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/07/progressives_and_their_taxes_kill_cities.html