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MARIGOT--President of Movement for Advancement of the People (MAP) Louis Mussington said Tuesday he condemned the "hurried" decision made by the Territorial Council last week to introduce three new tax measures, the controversial 30-per-cent Revenu Solidarité Active (RSA) levy for one, saying this will again "hurt the small man, the unemployed and those in despair, who are already suffering."
He said since the Collectivité had the competence in 2007 to write its own fiscal policy, it has failed to come up with a tax policy that's fair.
"Every time there is an increase in public charges, we rush through new measures, as in this case, and it always hurts the small man," he said. "In times of difficulties it's the ones who have more means who should be contributing more than the ones who have less means. But we don't have the courage to target those who are more comfortably off and this bothers me tremendously.
"We must have the political courage and determination to go to the French Government and tell them they gave us a bad deal from the beginning in never living up to their responsibility in transferring adequate means to manage the competencies we inherited in the new status. It is inconceivable in 2014 that the Government doesn't see it fit to correct this injustice or understand what we are experiencing.
"It is time for the people to say it is unacceptable. There must be a movement to protest these heavy financial burdens. Some form of civil protest or action will create awareness of our plight. We cannot continue to be hurting in this way. I believe this is the only way to command the attention of Government."
Mussington agreed there must be a reform of the RSA. "We should demand from the State the full competence of the RSA dossier to make the necessary adjustments and at least reduce the cost of it to five or six million euros annually. And we need to get to the bottom of the abuse where people are collecting illegally. But the Collectivité shouldn't rush into these increases without studying the whole situation. It seems the burden has to be carried by those who can least afford it."
