It is heavily caveated over accuracy but the Policy & Resources Committee said that it was clear from its live-stream staged earlier this year that the public wanted to see more evidence of how the tax changes would affect them.
The committee claims that modelling suggests that a majority of households would be better or no worse off compared to now if those proposals were to be introduced, and this tool gives people themselves the opportunity to assess how it could affect them.
‘As GST-plus remains one of the options, we thought a tool like this would help people understand what it would mean for them personally, if – and only if – that kind of tax reform were to be introduced,’ said P&R president Lindsay de Sausmarez.
She said that the package was based on a reduction in income tax and social security, an increase in pensions and other benefits, and the introduction of a consumption tax, and that the whole package was ‘complex and difficult to explain’.
‘Most people naturally assume, for example, that any option that includes GST would hit people on lower incomes hardest, but because of the other features of that package, a majority of low and middle income households would likely pay less tax altogether than they do now,’ she added.
‘I hope people find this tool helpful, though we’re publishing it with a necessary health warning that we cannot guarantee total accuracy, because everyone’s spending habits are different. It’s been designed to be straightforward to use and give a steer on whether this package of measures would be likely to leave you better or worse off if it were to be introduced. We’re not making any recommendations at this stage, but the more informed people are about all of the options, the better informed the States’ decision will hopefully be in the summer.’
All information entered into the calculator is anonymised and not viewed or retained by the States.
The calculator can be found at www.gov.gg/taxpackage, along with other information about the package of tax measures that the previous States agreed should be progressed with preparatory work. The ‘twin track’ of work exploring the alternatives is explained at www.gov.gg/taxreform.
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