Foreigners' tax

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