Tahiti's Assembly

After a shopkeepers ' strike and a mass demonstration . . .

Backs Down On

Sales Tax Plan

After a Tahiti-wide shop keepers’ strike on February 15 and an angry mass demonstration

in Papeete 12 days later, French

Polynesia’s Territorial Assembly

backed down on a plan to im pose a one per cent, tax on all business transactions in the

territory.

The tax was proposed by the Assembly’s majority parties, led by Messrs. Francis Sanford and John Teariki, who have 17 of the Assembly’s 30 seats.

The object of the tax was to make up a deficit of 60 million Pacific francs ($600,000) in the terri tory’s budget.

Tahiti’s business community bitterly opposed the proposed tax from the first, and a strike committee warned the majority parties early in February that it would call a general strike unless they announced their intention to drop the proposal.

When the committee got no satis faction on this score, every business in Tahiti closed down for the day on February 15.

Rocks thrown

A letter in quaint English, addressed to “Dear Tourist Friend”, was pub lished by the strike committee in emergency issues of the local news papers on the day of the strike for the edification of American and other English-speaking tourists. The letter read in part:— One agrees to find in Tahiti a charm which is unequalled in the world. Up to now there was, also, more liberty than anywhere else, and it is to preserve it that all trade people had to decide upon a strike, as a protest against inquisitory measures taken by the government recently.

Tahiti is sorry indeed to show you today its worse side. However, we feel certain that you will understand and forgive us in accepting with a smile the small inconveniences caused by the strike during your stay. It is because we want Tahiti to keep on smiling as in the past that we are fighting. . . .

Although the strike proved the unanimity of the business committee on the tax issue, the majority parties still gave no indication of abandoning their proposed tax, and it was not until February 27 that the matter was brought to a head.

On that day, thousands of shop keepers and idle workers massed out side the Territorial Assembly build ing in Papeete while their legislators debated the tax proposal inside.

At one stage, the demonstration erupted into a rock-throwing skirmish.

Several hours after the Assembly

session began, an announcement was made that the tax would not be applied.

The Assembly’s 1968 sales tax plan was thus defeated in similar circum stances to that of a proposed income tax put forward in 1958 by the popularly-elected leader, Pouvanaa a Oopa, and his party.

Strikes and demonstrations also took place against the Pouvanaa pro posal. The tax was called off after an angry crowd had waited outside the Governor’s residence during urgent discussions on it.