Amendments to P&R’s report are already understood to be in the pipeline, not all of which have been publicised yet.
‘I’m reasonably confident there will be a sursis motive,’ said Deputy Mark Helyar yesterday.
The States’ former treasury lead said he was aware of more amendments waiting in the wings.
During questions following an update statement from P&R at last week’s States meeting, he had pointed out that the extent of Pillar II taxation income was not yet known, a new treasury lead and new treasurer were due to be appointed.
‘Treasury is saying we are £50m. in the red but the treasury lead is telling us that finances are “robust”, while revenue services are 20,000 assessments behind and I am growing weary of being told things will improve when this is the same message I was given as treasury lead in 2020,’ he said.
‘I get no sense of decisive action or urgency. ‘
As a result, he said, islanders were right to be sceptical that the States could collect GST efficiently, or at all.
‘And we are showing no signs of getting costs under control or reforming government into a system capable of delivering services or projects at a reasonable cost, or at speed.’
The proposals as they stand were ‘little more than a benefits giveaway’, he said, and no longer met the primary purpose of the tax review, to raise sufficient income for the States to cover its annual requirements for revenue and capital spending.
‘We risk hobbling the economy, failing to raise sufficient revenue, and adding complexity and cost while we plod onwards with no plan for growth while failing to reform the glacial government system which is consuming revenue faster than we can feed it.’
While he saw GST as inevitable, he believed it would be a prudent approach to pause to ‘confirm the messages and the numbers and to prioritise the reform which I believe the public demands’.