Business groups want no more delays on tax proposals

The Institute of Directors, Guernsey International Business Association and Chamber of Commerce issued a joint statement in which they give a positive response to some elements of the package of proposals being put forward by Policy & Resources, including a 3% GST rather than 5% as previously approved.

And they said they supported the combination of this with protections for lower and middle income households, along with a cut to the income tax rate at lower wage levels.

But while they also back the way the package broadens the tax base, rather than relying heavily on workers and businesses, they pointed out that the whole package does not close the structural deficit and there were still questions about how the remaining gap would be funded.

At a recent series of workshops hosted by the IoD, more than 250 directors, business and community leaders were given the chance to say how they saw the island’s prospects.

They said that only a third of respondents described themselves as confident, with a majority concerned or ‘quite concerned’.

The speed and ambition of government decision-making, closely followed by the lack of a clear long-term economic direction, were cited as the issues holding the island back.

‘In other words, the island’s business leaders identify indecision itself as a brake on growth. That finding should weigh heavily on every deputy as they approach the July vote,’ said the business groups.

They said that doing nothing was not an option, and rejecting the proposals without a credible alternative was not a decision – ‘it is a deferral, and a costly one’.

‘Guernsey’s business community is asking for a decision.

‘It is time to act. A stable, credible fiscal framework it can plan and invest against, accompanied by the spending discipline and the pro-growth agenda respondents have called for at every turn.’

In a recent IoD survey on economic growth, nine out of 10 respondents said that the island was at an inflection point and indecision was identified as one of the greatest threats to growth.