The Deputy leader said, “It is a tragic commentary on the financial disaster now facing the federation that this Labour government is even considering such a giant step backwards. I hope and pray for the sake of our people who have already been burdened with the highest VAT tax in the region and an increase in the Social Services levy and Electricity rate that this consideration of an Income Tax will remain just a consideration and not implemented. Implementing a personal income tax under the current circumstances in St. Kitts and Nevis would be a simple transfer of the ever shrinking amount of public money from one bucket with a big hole into a bigger bucket with an even bigger hole.

“I am totally against any possible re-introduction of Personal Income Tax as to put it in the words of our great maestro King Ellie Matt “The Poor Can’t Take No More,” Hamilton commented.

According to a release by the opposition’s Public Relations office, “Employees of the Ministry of Finance are reporting that official instructions have been issued with regard to studying the introduction of personal income tax in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. There is even a proposed date of March 2011 as the possible time to when this new tax could be operational,” the release stated.

The release went on to say, “the 2009 IMF Article IV Consultation warned the Minister of Finance Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas and the Labour administration that if it insisted on following the path outlined in the 2009 National Budget the National Debt would balloon to over 200% of GDP by 2014 but if the government implemented certain fiscal measures including reducing tax concessions among others in 2009 the debt would shrink to 140% of GDP by 2014.”