Roffey denies trying to dilute ‘GST-plus’ proposal to boost chances of being approved

The original amendment, submitted last week, instructed Policy & Resources to ‘finalise and implement’ GST-plus without requiring further policy debates in the States Assembly.

But a revised version, submitted yesterday to replace the original amendment, would require P&R only to ‘develop and submit to the States’ another policy letter on GST-plus for debate either side of next year’s general election.

The change in wording effectively means that deputies will vote next month on whether to hold a future debate on GST-plus, rather than on a direction to introduce it.

The proposer of the amendment, Peter Roffey, insisted that he was not trying to dilute his proposal to boost its chances of being approved.

‘It is not intended to be a step back at all,’ he said.

‘The reality is that the fine detail was always going to require a final sign off and the approval of legislation, not least on the detail of the restructuring of social security contributions.’

Although the changes made by Deputy Roffey and his seconder, Deputy Peter Ferbrache, do not alter the need for future States debates on legal changes necessary to enforce GST-plus, the revised version of their amendment would introduce at least one further policy debate not envisaged in his original motion.

The changes were suggested by States lawyers at St James’ Chambers, who regularly advise on drafting, after the two deputies had second thoughts about the far-reaching effect of their original amendment.

‘The first amendment said finalise and implement, but on reflection it seemed less than democratic to ask the States to sign off on something which hadn’t yet been finalised,’ said Deputy Roffey.

‘A bit like voting without being fully sighted.’

P&R has asked the States to put up income tax to 22p in the pound for two years.

Deputy Roffey has claimed that the rate would never return to 20p.

Instead he wants a permanent 5% goods and services tax, together with a reduction in income tax to 15p in the pound on income up to about £32,000 a year, and a new personal allowance of about £15,000 a year free of social security contributions.

His revised amendment does not include a date by which P&R must report back to the Assembly with further policy proposals on GST-plus. But it retains the idea of the scheme starting in January 2027, which he said treasury officials had assured him was still ‘achievable’.

Deputy Roffey was no more than hopeful that the further policy proposals required by his revised amendment would be dealt with before next June’s general election.

‘I hope that might be achieved this term as 95% of the real work on the policy side has already been done, but I guess that will depend on resources,’ he said.

If they were put in place permanently, P&R’s tax package and the alternative GST-plus plan would raise approximately the same amount of additional revenue for the States.

But figures produced by treasury officials have shown that ‘GST-plus’ would be less costly for almost every household and leave nearly three out of four households better off financially than they are now.

Other amendments to the Budget debate not yet published are expected to propose large cuts in committees’ budgets and reform of the company tax system.