Guernsey Press

GST coming through the back door?

HOW have we reached the point where a temporary move to create the space to comfortably kick a can might be the trigger for States members to finally back the proposal that senior figures have wanted to introduce for the past four years?

Published

This, ladies and gentlemen, is a goods and services tax through the back door. No protest march, no Sweet Caroline sung in Market Square, few protests expected on the steps of the Royal Court – though rumours were circulating yesterday that one deputy Carl Meerveld would be there with his anti-GST flag.

But finally all the preparatory work, which crashed on the rocks over the past few years, might have got through, even without the roadshows and the public consultations and the Lord Kitchener ‘help us to save money’ pleas. We don’t believe it, but it’s almost like the 2p on income tax was a stalking horse to pave the way for GST.

Certainly more politicians, and more voters, now believe the justification for a goods and services tax, and can recognise the ‘benefits’ of the GST-plus package. But then new concerns emerge. What will these new taxes be spent on?

Politicians want your money. Because they want to justify their existence and offer bright, shiny services for the public. Health and education, they’ll retort.

But offer a big, or blank, cheque, and who knows what you’ll get. More job opportunities in the island’s fastest-growing sector, that’s for sure.