the House of Assembly on Friday.

And Shadow Finance Minister Grant Gibbons -- who brought the issue forward -- said: "We were waiting for Government to say something, but they've done nothing, so we've taken it upon ourselves.'' The Opposition tabled its bill on the first day of the new House session and three weeks after the announcement that MPs did not have to pay the tax because they were not considered to be Government employees.

But Dr. Gibbons said: "Everybody else in the Country is paying it -- we should as well.'' The move came after ex-Accountant General Heather Matthews found the existing law appeared to exempt MPs from the tax.

The lost tax amounts to roughly $120 a month per MP and member of the Upper House.

Finance Minister Eugene Cox said at the time that the problem had been discovered by accident and was not a change in policy.

But he added there were no immediate plans to change the rules, although back taxes to 1995 would not be refunded to MPs.

The United Bermuda Party went on the offensive, claiming it was an attempt to hike MPs salaries by the back door and that it was "self-serving''.

When the 1995 Payroll Tax Act was passed, incorporating hospital levy into the tax, there was no mention that MPs were liable to pay up.

MPs pay the hospital levy with liability subject to a clause in the Hospital Levy Act. An opinion sought by Ms Matthews from Attorney General Dame Lois Browne Evans agreed MPs had been charged payroll tax illegally.

But Dr. Gibbons said there had been no intention of exempting MPs when the original Act was passed.

He added: "There would have been an outcry if MPs were not under the Act at the time it was passed. So it was with some surprise we heard the announcement from the Attorney General's Chambers.'' POLITICS PTL