Alderney proposes rise in tax and rates to cover deficit

A total of £533,000 was used to cover the islands ambulance services and its only GP practice for 2023

The States of Alderney has proposed raising property tax and water rates to help cover a £533,000 deficit.

The money was used in 2023 to fund the ambulance service and for its joint purchase of the island's GP practice with Guernsey.

In the 2024 draft budget, the States has proposed a 4% increase in Property Tax.

Nigel Vooght, Chair of the Policy and Finance Committee, said rises would stay below inflation.

He said: "No one said it would be easy and while we fully expected this would take us down the route of increasing taxes while making efficiency savings across the board, we have been able to keep such tax increases well below the rate of inflation."

The States said the deficit was expected to fall to about £485,000 by the end of the year and forecast that by the end of 2024, it expected to have an operating surplus of about £58,000.

An additional income of "wise investment of reserves" could add more than £200,000 "to the bottom line", it said.

It has also proposed a 5% rise in water rates to help pay for major works, including improvements to the Mouriaux to Platte Saline sewer system.

A 50% increase to vehicle import duty to "restrict the number of vehicles coming onto the island", alongside a policy review on larger vehicles due to public concern about "oversized vehicles on the island's narrow streets", will also be debated.

A "slight" increase to freehold document duty and an increased duty for long leases and share transfers have also been proposed.

"Tax increases are never welcome, but many will breathe a sigh of relief that they are not as high as we might have expected in the current economic climate," Mr Vooght said.

"Every department of the civil service and the states members have worked hard to manage the deficit responsibly and thanks to this teamwork, we are on track to turn it from deficit to surplus next year."

The States said it had also committed to contribute up to £3.5m to the airport regeneration project, providing the extension to the runway goes ahead.

It said this could be paid for from capital balances or borrowing, or a combination of both.

The proposed budget will go before the states on Wednesday 11 October.

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