Samoa's Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele, has told parliament that the country must not give the impression that it penalises entrepreneurs with high taxes.
An MP, Unasa Mesi, had called for businesspeople with big incomes to pay a higher level of tax.
But Tuilaepa said business people created jobs faster than government could and imposing different levels of tax was a thing of the past.
He said the top bracket was presently 29 percent and big businesses already contributed a bigger share of the country's tax income.
The Prime Minister said commercial people worked hard to make their businesses viable and create jobs.
He said the thought of children growing up in Samoa without jobs to go to was an ongoing concern for the government.
