Dumas considers council tax

His suggestion came at Thursday’s post-Cabinet media conference.

He said there was a proposal that local corporations could raise 25 percent of their expenses by imposing a local taxation.

Under this proposal, he effused, anyone running a corporation “would now have to face his burgesses and say to them what he is doing with the funding he is receiving from taxing them.” By contrast, he said, at present a local government councillor has no relationship to the burgesses, but simly tells central government “I want money.”

Dumas said, “Maybe you need to change the system and suggest that there is need for both local government and central government to take responsibility for the level of taxation.”

He assured that this issue should be worked out by consensus.

Dumas also suggested that the powers of local government be spelt out in an amended National Constitution.