States 'faces trust challenge' in revenue service

Tim Chilestone said the trust of the public in the revenue service was "very, very low"

A director at a Guernsey accountancy firm says the States faces a challenge to build public trust in the revenue service.

The need for a new computer system, which has since been brought in, was among reasons previously given for delays in tax returns being processed.

The comments follows the States' decision to axe a contract with IT infrastructure company Agilisys by the end of July - halfway through its 10-year tenure.

Agilisys said it had not carried out the revenue service systems overhaul as it had been done by another firm appointed by the States.

Tim Chilestone, director of accountancy firm TCS Guernsey, said: "The trust of the public in the revenue service is very, very low. That's the biggest task they have making the public trust them again."

He said people had faced difficulties finding out information.

Mr Chilestone said: "A lot of people are losing track of where they are... Do they actually owe the revenue service any money? Does the revenue service owe them?"

He said the system made it easy for people to make minor mistakes, especially for those who conducted their own bookkeeping.

Agilisys signed a £200m contract for the delivery of the majority of States IT services in 2019.

Policy and Resources Committee said the decision to terminate the contract was unanimous and in the "best interests of the States, and the wider community".

Robert Sillars, CEO and chairman of Sigma Group which tendered for the contract, said: "It's obviously important for them [the States] to get it right going forward."

For any future contracts Mr Chilestone said it was important the States was clear about what it wanted to be achieved.

He said: "If they make a mistake, cause delays, overruns or extra costs then that cost needs to be borne by the company, not by the taxpayer.

"The whole point of using commercial external entities to do this kind of work instead of just recruiting in-house, is to reduce the risk to the States and therefore the taxpayer - and with Agilisys it doesn't feel like they've done that.

"I'm optimistic now they have the opportunity to resolve those issues but I'm also a little cautious. Will they actually achieve that?"

An Agilisys spokesperson said: "Agilisys was not responsible for the Revenue Services Transformation Programme, including the associated overhaul of the services' IT system.

"This programme was led by a third-party provider entirely separate from Agilisys and appointed directly by the States of Guernsey themselves."

Update: This story was changed on 6 June 2025 to clarify some of the issues around delays in tax returns being processed and on 20 June 2025 to include comments from Agilisys.