WHEN I was a boy, children of the day could easily be frightened by the mythical Bogeyman - and sometimes tales of the so-called "Blanketman" would be thrown in for good measure by parents for those especially disobedient children.

I doubt very much today, in the era of computer games and 24-hour cable television, that the children will be bothered by the threat of a Bogeyman. Such simple behaviour-control mechanisms have pretty much gone by the wayside.

But in a continuing effort to broaden the debate in the current lacklustre election campaign, this week I will discuss a Bogeyman that still holds sway over the minds of many people - adults in particular. And that is the issue of tax reform in Bermuda.

In the modern political era, from the 1960s onwards, Bermuda has never had a full and open debate on the question of its tax system - and whether it is time for change.

To openly talk about reforming the tax system is to invite attacks on yourself in the form of accusations that you are an advocate of the dreaded income tax.

As a consequence, all debate on the reform of Bermuda's tax system gets stifled. And any and all official reports on the topic end up in the classified file, with both United Bermuda Party and Progressive Labour Party Governments fearful that the contents could be used against them during election campaigns.

Sir Henry Tucker, one of the founding fathers of Bermuda's modern political system, was an early advocate of direct (or income) tax for Bermuda. But though Sir Henry was known to get most things that he wanted, he failed to convince the rest of the legislature that this was the way Bermuda should go.

I became privy to the details of this early attempt to reform Bermuda's tax system - and the subsequent heated Parliamentary debate on the issue - from a very unusual source. More on my source later but first let's examine the income tax debate that took place in the middle of World War Two.

I have attempted to reconstruct an account of the political thunder-and-lightning the issue caused in Bermuda's House of Assembly during an era of limited political franchise when most of Bermuda's people, black and white, did not enjoy true representative government.

Direct taxation for Bermuda was the subject of a debate in the House of Assembly on November 13, 1944, when all forms of direct taxation were rejected.

Angry cries of 'Question, Question' were heard throughout the chamber when Mr. Henry P. Vesey, chairman of the Finance Committee, moved an item calling for the setting up of an income tax department.

Mr. Vesey began the debate by pointing out that customs tariffs were exceedingly high and had a direct impact on the cost of living. He called for some relief in this area by putting in place some form of income tax so that the burden of tax could be spread more evenly. Mr. John W. Cox countered that he believed that the customs tariffs were not unduly high.

Mr. James Pearman, a supporter of income tax, gave the example of a Hamilton merchant who amassed a net income of ?60,000, and given that he could live in Bermuda at the time for ?5,000, the rest of his income, some ?55,000, was all tax free. At the same time other business people in Hamilton earned incomes of ?15,000-20,000.

Mr. North, as the official objector, called Mr. Pearman's speech silly and put forward the old argument about the difficulties of collecting income tax.

Dr. Cann, one of eight black Members of Parliament, made this statement in the House: "If we are to avoid internal friction we must do something of this sort, thousands of people in this country are becoming politically awake.

"They are very much conscious of the fact that they have not been given a square deal in the past with no indication of their receiving a square deal in the future. Faced with a conviction of that sort there is nothing for such an individual to do but to make up his mind to fight."

Henry Tucker then proceeded to castigate Mr. Cox for hypocrisy and duplicity: "He says," cried Mr. Tucker, "he is in favour as a general principle of income tax, but I think he says further, 'But, oh God, not in my time'."

The income tax motion was voted down 18-15 and marked a rare occasion when black and white Parliamentarians attempted to vote in some progressive legislation to benefit the whole country, but alas found themselves on the losing side.

As a result of the vote the leading and pro-income tax members of the Finance Committee - Mr. W. Henry P. Vesey, chairman, and Mr. Eldon H. Trimingham, deputy - put forward their resignation on December 20, 1944, and these, it was said, were reluctantly accepted by the Speaker.

thrown out was land tax and inheritance tax. It was left to an editorial in titled to have the final word on the subject. The first paragraph reads: "In this sixth year of the costliest in the history of mankind, a war which among other things has brought about unprecedented shortages of life's necessities elsewhere and would have brought about the most disastrous inflation ever known had it not been for the wisdom and courage of leaders of the British Empire and the United States, the Bermuda House of Assembly have again rejected income tax and repudiated the principle annd practice of direct taxation."

Who in Bermuda today has the courage to take such unpopular stands on an issue of principle?

My source for background material on the failed income tax initiative was none other than the late Sir John Plowman. A few years ago I got a telephone call from this icon of the conservative establishment. No one was more surprised than me but I accepted his invitation to come to his house to talk about tax reform for Bermuda.

His call may well have been prompted by a I wrote on the subject some time earlier. But I suspect, wily politician that he was, mine was not the only ear he put a whisper in concerning this subject.

Over a glass of lemonade he asked me where I got my information. I told him I was no expert on tax reform; my opinions came from reading and general observations. He then produced the file on the World War Two income tax debate which, as you may have gathered, he allowed me to copy.

Sir John did not advocate a graduated form of income tax for Bermuda, the type that is used in the US and UK. But he was well aware, even in his old age, that Bermuda must have a fairer and - above all - a more stable tax system.

Bermuda's present tax system - based on import duties - was all right when Bermuda had a more buoyant tourist industry and Government revenues from this source were a lot more constant (and, as was pointed out in the 1944 debate on tax reform, there was less demand on Government to increase spending in terms of social development).

But look how far we have come since those days. And in this modern era, is it realistic to expect an import-based tax system to subsidise all of the activities that Government is now involved in - education, housing, health?

John favoured a system of flat income tax - 20 per cent of all income - similar to the one used in Jersey in the Channel Islands. I suspect that he may have discussed this idea with colleagues in the United Bermuda Party hierarchy but they had rejected it.

He talked at length as to why he thought this system would work well in Bermuda. I tended to agree with him, adding that if Bermuda moved in this direction we probably would have fewer problems in dealing with accusations of being a tax haven.

Sir John agreed to give me a copy of his file but said that if I used information from it, I must keep the source secret. I kept my end of the bargain. But now that Sir John has died, I don't think he would mind me discussing our conversation.

In fact, I think he was pleased that a veteran rebel from the Black Power revolt era and a hero of the conservative establishment could have so much in common on the question of tax reform in Bermuda. There is hope for Bermuda yet.

And there is one more reason why I have chosen to discuss my little chat about tax reform with Sir John Plowman. For the most part I was taught that during the bad old days of the rule of the Forty Thieves, the pre-1968 era, there was never any thought given to the progressive evolution of the country as a whole.

While it is true that for the most part, Bermuda was ruled by a group of privileged white men, who had little thought about the interests of the country overall, the ruling oligarchy was bitterly split over the question of a fairer tax system for Bermuda.