kiss of death, income tax. Bermuda's rather old fashioned tax system based on import duties and such things as occupancy taxes and licensing fees served the Country well when it was a much less complicated place than it is today.

Today, there are two roughly equal basic pillars to Bermuda's economy, tourism and international business. No one doubts these days that tourism and its attendant facilities, from hotels to retail stores to restaurants, are in serious difficulties. For too long Bermuda denied the problems with tourism but, finally, people are understanding the truth that action must be taken. If we are to get the much complained of price of a Bermuda vacation down, then that action must include tax relief.

At the risk of being accused of being simplistic, let us say that if you look at today's tax system it is quite easy to see that the basic burden of taxation falls on the visitor because almost everything a visitor buys, eats, drinks or uses while they are in Bermuda is taxed. Then add to that hotel room taxes and such things as the departure tax and the 15 percent automatic gratuity, which visitors see as a tax.

The hotels pay their share of taxes and retail outlets attempting to sell merchandise to the visitor at a competitive price pay, in advance, duties on just about everything a visitor purchases.

The situation is much more complex than we can outline but the fact is that Bermuda's basic taxation falls on some arm of the tourism industry. That means that tourism is paying the basic taxes for the entire economy, not just for itself but for the international business sector as well. When Bermuda really had only one major source of income, tourism, that was sensible and understandable but it seems outdated now that international business is so important and when we all admit that tourism is the weak pillar of our two pillar economy.

We are not suggesting taxes on international businesses located here as a solution. Bermuda has agreements with those businesses which must be honoured and should be honoured.

However, just as hotels, restaurants, retailers and a host of other businesses grew to support tourism, so facilities have grown and grown rich in support of the international business sector. Yet many of these do not pay anything like the share of taxation which is imposed on businesses related to tourism. That hardly seems either sensible or fair especially at a time when international business is thriving and tourism is not.

Basically we are talking about law firms and accounting firms which have had enormous success in support of the international company sector. There has to be a way for them to share the tax burden. If the Ministry of Finance does not find a way, then we can expect continuing erosion in tourism.