'We did a poor job in putting our view across'

TREASURY minister Gavin St Pier has apologised for his department's poor communication over its desire to phase out mortgage interest relief, which he admitted had caused anxiety and distress.

Many islanders reacted angrily to the proposal, which will be debated this week as part of the department's 2013 Budget.

It led to a partial climbdown by the department, which said it would not oppose an amendment submitted by Deputy Matt Fallaize to delay the phasing out of the relief until after a planned taxation review.

Deputy St Pier, pictured, apologised for the way the matter had been handled.

'We communicated what we had expressed as being our view, but it was interpreted as being our decision,' he said. 'It's always been intended for it to be subject to a review.'