Guernsey group against GST calls for taxing businesses more

The No To GST group held a public meeting, organised by Deputy Charles Parkinson, focusing on why the tax system should be reformed

About 150 people attended a meeting on proposals to reject GST and investigate generating more taxes from businesses.

The event took place on Monday evening, focusing on bringing a plan to investigate a new corporate tax regime to the States.

Proposals have been made for a 5% goods and services tax (GST) and changes to social security and income tax to reduce a budget deficit.

Organiser Deputy Charles Parkinson said the tax system should be reformed.

"We already tax the regulated finance sector at 10%, they're used to paying tax in Guernsey and we already exempt investment funds which is the big growth sector of the finance industry, and there is no proposal by anyone to change that exemption, so for most of them it wouldn't mean any change at all," he said.

About 150 islanders were in attendance for the meeting

Deputy Chief Minister Mark Helyar, Treasury lead for the Policy and Policy Committee, said the island could be at risk of losing business with the change proposed by the group.

He said: "The issue is not whether to amend, it's how to amend it and in what order, our view is it's wrong to impose a territorial system without consultation first, and Deputy Parkinson's ideas are perfectly acceptable and they may end up being what happens.

"The point is that we need to work these things together in conjunction with other options to work out which is the highest or lowest risk because if Guernsey loses business, that means we all end up paying even more."

A meeting - the latest in a series - will be held on Tuesday to explain the tax proposals from Policy and Resources to reform the tax system.

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