A Fijian nationalist leader and former coup convict says they will tax tourists to fund programmes to help the underprivileged if they get into government after the general elections.
Iliesa Duvuloco, who has served time with George Speight for his role in the coup, says nationalists in government will immediately triple the budget funding for the poor, the unemployed, the destitute, the handicapped and the old.
Mr Duvuloco says if they impose a tax of 120 US dollars on the half-a-million tourists who visit Fiji each year for their visas, they would raise 60 million US dollars.
He says the tourist visa tax would be easy to collect right at the airport and the tourists won't mind paying.
Mr Duvuloco says travelers from Fiji are already taxed by New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Canada by way of visa fees of similar amounts.
Mr Duvuloco has contested nine Fiji elections and lost all of them.
