THE EDITOR, Sir:
KINDLY ALLOW me space in your worthy paper to rebut some common errors regarding Central Government and Local Government relationships.
So many illustrious persons, both in Central and Local Government, believe unfortunately that Local Government is an offshoot of Central Government, with the Central Government having the right to dictate all matters large and small to the Local Government authorities. This could not be further from the truth. Central Government is an autonomous body and Local Government is an autonomous body with wide doors through which they both can dialogue and communicate.
One could hardly keep his seat when it was revealed last year that Central Government was in the act of extracting $7 billion from land taxes which is the province of Local Government. If I am right, and I stand ready to be corrected, then this act of piracy should not be allowed.
The farmers of Jamaica, and especially the small and medium farmers, have never been in a worse position due to wholesale importation of foreign foods and vegetables during the prime crop time in Jamaica.
The increase in taxes is not new or unexpected but we remember that a farmer on one to 10 acres of land would pay from $50 to $200 per year for tax and no increase would be more than 10 per cent in any one calendar year.
The Prime Minister, before the General Elections, rightly promised to review the matter as the error was coming from the Central Government. Unfor-tunately, we are still waiting on our PM to speak on this matter.
I am, etc.,
JHD PARCHMENT
Watchwell P.A.
St. Elizabeth
