Foreigners' tax

With reference to your Jan. 3 article Paying foreigners affects balance of payments: Expert, I am writing to point out the danger of articles of this kind (which appear in newspapers other than The Jakarta Post).

Such articles put all foreigners in a difficult, if not a dangerous, position. A breakdown delineating income by occupation and nationality should be included in all such reports.

The income-range of foreigners in Indonesia is quite broad, as is the range of nationalities. This type of reporting implies that all foreigners are sitting in the lap of luxury, a patently false accusation. I applaud Indonesia's efforts to maximize its human resources potential but strongly object to the portrayal of foreigners as a primary source in the creation of national debt.

MORGAN CHAMBERLIN

Jakarta