Issue No: 980; 28 July 2001

The People's Coalition Government had removed the 10% tax from 7 basic household items in order to alleviate hardship from the poor people in Fiji. But after the terrorists took the elected government hostage and Qarase usurped power, the Qarase regime had reimposed the tax on the 7 items.

The Labour Party sought a judicial review of the decision. It claimed that the regime had no authority to reimpose the tax because under the Fiji Court of Appeal ruling, the Qarase regime could only do those things which were essential for the functioning of the state.

The FLP argued that the reimposition of VAT was not essential for the functioning of the state, and that this move had created widespread misery and distress in Fiji. FLP's Dr. Ganesh Chand swore an affidavit saying that rising poverty was the major cause of social dissatisfaction, political unrest and instability. He also stated that the reimposition of the tax added to the economic hardship which the average person in Fiji was facing, and that the Qarase regime had no mandate from the people to change the tax system.