Editor,

It is sad to see that the United States and Tonga have something in common. Both have a dysfunctional Parliament/Congress. The really sad part is that Tonga can not afford the same level of stupidity.

Before I get into all of the negative stuff, I would like to comment on the new tax policies. First changing the personal income tax to 10% for those earning $7,401 to $30,000 and 20% for those earning over $30,000 is very progressive. The 15% Consumption tax, the 20% import duty, and the 25% flat tax on businesses are also very progressive and less than similar taxes found in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. I applaud the government for getting this tax policy in place. It should encourage investment and business in Tonga.

The biggest concern with taxes should be enforcement. How about if the tax returns of all royal and noble title holders, members of parliament, their businesses and business partners were made public? If it's good enough for the President of the United States, it should be no problem for these folks.

I am very concerned that Akilisi Pohiva is more socialist than democrat. His proposals to introduce a land tax and to tax profitable companies at extreme levels sound like redistribution of wealth to me. This is a communist method that historically has not proven to be effective. These measures will drive away investors who can get a better return on their investments in lower risk areas of the world.

Speaking of questionable political affiliation, the Honorable Prime Minister and the Honorable Minister of Finance seem to have become fascists. The PM with his censorship of TBC and the Finance Minister with his threats to close down the Tonga-now.to website, they are trying to shut down or control the media.

Both of these gentlemen are wrong. First, if the PM is worried about his words being misrepresented, he should have the TBC broadcast live the Parliament sessions. As for the Tonga-Now website, I thought it was a pro-government website with an unbiased reporting as far as Tongan news websites are concerned.

The PM's demand that the PRs confess and admit guilt for the destruction of 16/11 is childish and unproductive. Boy, that is like getting into a fight with your wife being on the edge of divorce, and telling her, you won't get back together until she apologizes and admits that the whole fight was her fault. That is the palangi example; some of you may choose to reverse the role of the husband and wife depending on your culture situation.

Remember, there are two points of view on how you can find your freedom, one is "Work will set you free" (Arbeit Macht Frei) and the other is "Truth will set you free".

History has shown that the second option works better. Transparency and not oppression will make Tonga thrive.

Respectfully,

Joe Smith

utahpalangi [at] msn [dot] com