Not all here for the tax break, says Healthspan

ESTABLISHED Guernsey companies should not be tarred with the same brush as 'opportunistic newcomers' in the row over VAT exemption, according to the founder of Healthspan.

Derek Coates (pictured) said his company was very different to UK firms that had moved their distribution centres to the island to take advantage of a tax loophole.

Leaked letters from HM Treasury showed the UK is planning a clampdown on companies that it considers abuse the 'de minimis' rule.

Items posted to the UK from Guernsey worth less than £18 are not liable for VAT. However, according to media reports at the weekend, the UK Treasury is considering using a recent EU test case involving the Halifax Bank to claw it back.

Mr Coates said it was important that the UK distinguished between established Guernsey companies and those based in the island to take advantage of the rule.

'Healthspan is a locally-owned company, created in 1996,' he said. 'We are quite different from more recent opportunist UK companies who have been transhipping products to Guernsey to take advantage of de minimis VAT concessions.'

HMV distributes products to the UK from Guernsey and a spokesman said the company acted appropriately.

'We have a robust structure for our online fulfilment from Guernsey, which we are confident is different to and cannot be challenged under the Halifax ruling,' he said. 'In the case of our service to customers, goods are continuously delivered by suppliers to our own warehouse, where we hold a significant amount of stock. We employ a team of local people to pick, pack and label the goods when the order is placed, before shipping to customers.'