Opinion

Its a banking blunder

Saturday 23 July 2011 | Published in Smoke Signals

A smoke signaller writes: The review in this weeks CI News showing that New Zealand exempts from withholding tax the interest earned by foreign investors, should have been known to our minister of finance before he unwisely decided to tax all interest in the Cook Islands. To attract foreign money and assist liquidity in the […]

Brazen robbery distressing

Friday 22 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, My guests were at home enjoying a late dinner on the front deck of our house when someone broke into the rear of the house and stole cash from a wallet. Brazenly, the thief locked the inside door, rifled through the room and found the wallet, extracted the cash, exited and then proceeded […]

Not hard to go phosphate-free

Friday 22 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, It was heartening to read Manea Foods concerns over the use of products containing phosphates, Stop buying phosphate soaps published Friday July 8. Snowbird Laundry is probably the biggest user of detergents on the island. For well over a year we have only been using phosphate-free detergents in all our laundry operations. As […]

Government clarifies tax plan

Friday 22 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I would like to clarify some issues surrounding the Government measure to re-introduce the Withholding Tax on interest which have been raised in your paper in recent days. I would also like to reiterate the Governments intentions in regard to the tax, to your readers. It is the intent of the Government to […]

Kata - July 22, 2011

Friday 22 July 2011 | Published in Kata

No minor issue

Thursday 21 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Further to the letter to the editor and article in Wednesday July 20s CI News highlighting the new income tax exemptions, it would appear that individuals (and companies) also get a tax break on interest earning overseas. Surely an unintended incentive to shift funds offshore and cause further liquidity problems here? No doubt […]

Court change well overdue

Thursday 21 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor The change to the Land Agents Registration Act is more than welcome. Persons related to landowners should never have been barred from appearing in the land court which has always been known as a peoples court. Ngaoa Ranginui Land Court Services

When will the incompetence end?

Thursday 21 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor The article in CI News 20 July regarding Bartercard (Bartercard not foreign enterprise) concludes: In the past few months New Zealand company representatives have spent time on Rarotonga soliciting business and signing new clients. That sure sounds like carrying on business in the Cook Islands to me. The article refers to BTIBs chief […]

Upgrade suspicious

Thursday 21 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I smell a rat with the proposed upgrade of the Tereora field to cater for a one-off rugby league game. Usually teams from overseas visiting the islands are bound to put up with the conditions offering. But apparently some advance travelling league expert has deemed the Tereora field unplayable. Strewth, it has plenty […]

20-foot eyesores

Thursday 21 July 2011 | Published in Smoke Signals

A smoke signaller writes: Were trying to attract tourists to the island, but they dont want to see great containers on residential land. There seems to be no regulation regarding where they can be placed. Containers are not rubbish but they are certainly unsightly and should not be placed on main roads. Tourists come to […]

Lend Super funds here

Tuesday 19 July 2011 | Published in Smoke Signals

Clearly the minister of finance is out of his depth, having come up with that dumb withholding tax concept, and needs some guidance when it comes to raising money, a smoke signaller writes. Lets start with this suggestion: the Super Fund purportedly has well over $33 million in its kitty. Ok, Ok, I know, never […]

Is this a stalling tactic?

Tuesday 19 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, With all the articles in previous months newspapers regarding the Public Services Commissioner and his private dealings with fishing licences while working as a civil servant, can the Prime Minister explain why he hasnt suspended Navy Epati while an investigation is being conducted by the Cook Islands Police and Financial Intelligence Unit? The […]

Receptionist embodies Cook Islands hospitality

Tuesday 19 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor Here is praise for a very cooperative receptionist. Tourists of Cook Islands descent from Whakatane were photographing from our million dollar view in Muri. The little girl dropped her camera. Two calls to Edgewater to tell the tourists where their camera was brought negative response: They needed the tourists surname which I did […]

Kata - July 19, 2011

Tuesday 19 July 2011 | Published in Kata

What will it take?

Monday 18 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I just want to ask a question to the Government about what have they done to improve the black spot accident-prone area on the Nikao back road that claimed another life. I believe this black spot has claimed so many lives in the past and to this day nothing has been done to […]

Your truth is not ours

Monday 18 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Just to ask Ewan a question – does he mean that we the descendants of Te Pa Atua Kino are papaa – not tangata enua of Tumu Te Varovaro? The years of the Boobah was written by papaa, that was an assumption he wrote of who we are as Cook Islanders. Ewan, Ive […]

Donation appreciated

Monday 18 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor May I, through your newspaper, offer my thanks to the people of Aitutaki for their kind donation of many thousands of dollars to our earthquake fund. As someone resident in the middle of the disaster it is comforting and heartening to know that folk far away from our problems are concerned enough about […]

Too much noise for Sunday

Monday 18 July 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor I am a little peeved off today after losing valuable sleep thanks to party goers during the wee hours of Sunday morning. When I woke up at 2am I heard the thumping of an entertainment system combined with excessive noise from the people themselves. So I decided to call the police to alert […]

Kata - July 18, 2011

Monday 18 July 2011 | Published in Kata

Budget balancing on a knife edge

Saturday 16 July 2011 | Published in Smoke Signals

Even if the new tax on savings generates the fantasy one million dollars, that must be less than one percent of the government budget, a smoke signaller writes. If I ran my business on the basis that a one percent change in income or expense would be a matter of life or death, then all […]