Policy & Resources president Lindsay de Sausmarez arrived shortly before the meeting was due to begin, compared to the July meeting, when she spent a large amount of time speaking with protestors.
She said the protest was very specifically about GST and not the tax package as whole.
‘It’s not something that anyone welcomes, I don’t welcome it either on its own, but that’s not what we’re proposing,' she said.
‘We’re actually proposing a major restructure of our tax base that actually lifts the tax burden off the shoulders of individuals.’
She said it was a message that many people had not had an opportunity to ‘get their heads round it’.
‘We’re debating a major restructure of our tax system that will put our public finances on a stable footing and reduce our vulnerability to economic shocks, and really make sure that we’ve got that sound platform for us to invest in our economy and our future,’ she said.
Our reporters Lucy Rouget and Amy Hext spoke to some of the key voices from inside the States, and from the protest
P&R member Steve Falla reiterated that GST was only a part of the tax reform, but acknowledged that it was not popular.
‘We’re doing what we believe is the right thing for sustainable finances for the island going forward, it’s not a quick fix,’ he said.
‘The easiest thing for us to do would be to give in, but it’s not right for the future, I’m convinced of that.’
Deputy Falla said he had been listening to people who were against the proposal, but said he remained convinced that the committee would be foolish to delay things and revisit the same arguments further down the line.
‘We really need to make a decision,’ he said.
‘There’s too much uncertainty and we need to think of the future.’
Standing with protesters, Haley Camp said she was listening to the public because it was frustrating that politicians were not listening.
‘We seem to be back looking at an imperfect package,’ she said.
‘Lots of people have said it’s imperfect and there are many, many valid reasons why people have said it’s imperfect, and yet here we still are.’
She said that the number of amendments showed that there were a lot of identified issues with the policy letter.
‘There is an unprecedented number of amendments here and I don’t think that this decision should be rushed through and made quickly,’ said Deputy Camp.
‘I don’t think it’s a bad thing for there to be a bit more time to go away and listen.
‘The reality is, it would have been better for this policy letter to have felt more like a collaborative piece of work among all 40 deputies, rather than having to do it this way.’
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