New York, New York
By Tony Best
“Caribbean Immigrants shouldn’t believe the Democrats are the only ones with the keys to the future.”
That statement from a Caribbean diplomat in Washington wasn’t seeking to put a case for the Republicans in the White House or on Capitol Hill. Far from it.
Instead, the speaker was reacting to a Democrat-led drive that could hurt a vital sector of the economies of several countries ““ from Barbados, The Bahamas and the Cayman Islands to Antigua, Saint Kitts – Nevis and St Vincent.
On the other hand Michael King, Barbados’ Ambassador in Washington, proposes a somewhat different view.
“Here we are in 2007 and we are going back to deal with an issue we had hoped had largely disappeared from the radar screen after our battles with the so-called ‘Harmful Taxation Initiative’ of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),” he said.
Dr Denzil Douglas, prime minister of St Kitts – Nevis, agreed with King.
“We are disappointed that we have to go through this again,” he told the WEEKEND NATION in New York.