Why do we need a GST at all? Will the £300,00 registration threshold discourage business growth? Will I have to pay GST on childcare costs? Why do the States waste so much money? Do you not realise that you are damaging your political legacies? And what is going to keep GST at 3% once it has been introduced?
Those were among a selection of the 27 questions fired at the Policy & Resources panel of Deputies Lindsay de Sausmarez, Charles Parkinson and Steve Falla during a 90-minute online Q&A session.
It was a sure-footed performance from P&R but you got the impression that most of those firing questions were instinctively against Policy and Resources’ tax package, and were unlikely to be swayed by whatever answer the committee members provided. Here’s how the evening panned out...
Why do we need a GST at all? It is not doing the heavy lifting so why not just keep to other revenue-raising measures?
Actually, GST is doing a lot of the heavy lifting but it is also about rebalancing the tax burden. £11m. will come from the finance sector, and wealthy residents won’t be able to avoid a consumption tax in the same way they can Income Tax. It is very much a package.
Why will a couple with one earner of £50,000 be worse off than a couple with two earners, both on £25,000?
It’s true that they will be, but they will still be better off than they are now. They will still benefit from the 15% tax band and the new social security allowance.
How can you propose such radical changes on the basis of out-of-date data and statistics?
We have good data which has been adjusted to 2026 levels. We know it is good data because we have tested it a lot and it always matches real life examples.
How did you calculate the sum of £1.1m. needed to help businesses adjust?
We inherited that sum from the last tax package, but the important thing is that we will be working very closely with business groups to understand what sort of help is needed.
Won’t the £300,000 registration threshold discourage businesses from expanding?
That’s not the Jersey experience, because the returns by businesses are kept really simple, and there are actually some benefits to registering.
Do people really understand the ‘plus’ part of GST-plus?
No. This package involves a lot of redistribution. Three-quarters of households will be better off. Only 20% of the additional revenues are coming from local households, and that will only be from wealthier households.
Will GST apply to childcare?
No. Nor will it apply to health or care services.
Will P&R members attend the anti-GST protest on Sunday?
Some will but others won’t for family or personal reasons.
Why mitigate when mitigations wouldn’t be needed if you didn’t bring in GST?
We have to put our public finances in order. Doing nothing is not an option. We are in a fundamentally unsustainable protectory and our savings will run out by 2031 if we don’t take action.
Why has the States wasted money on dealing with contaminated soil at the airport?
The money isn’t being wasted. These are dangerous contaminants which can’t be ignored and it would be irresponsible to leave the soil untreated.
Can’t you remove the tax cap so everyone pays their fair share of income tax?
We are looking at the tax caps to see if there should be any changes. You might see some proposals in this regard in the next budget report. You have to remember that the tax caps were brought in under competitive threat from Jersey and the Isle of Man.
Why bring in GST before looking at your own cost base?
We are doing both but we don’t have the luxury of time. We are running up the down escalator, we can make efficiency savings, but the underlying demand for services keeps growing.
What will keep the GST at 3%?
We are promising that it will be held at that rate until at least 2030 and there will be protection in the sense that if the rate ever goes up then so will the value of the mitigations.
Can’t you see that this whole silly idea is on the ropes and you are damaging your political legacies?
We couldn’t care less about our political legacies. We have to do what is right for the island, and we can’t do nothing.
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