Guernsey Chamber of Commerce calls for pension reform

Tax changes in Guernsey will be debated later in October

Guernsey's government is facing calls for pension reform amid proposals for a wide range of tax changes.

The island's Chamber of Commerce said it supported tax reform but wanted "a commitment to civil service pension savings".

It said its executive had studied the tax reform billet and would brief and survey its 600 members on their views.

Policy and Resources (P&R) announced earlier this year it was reviewing civil servant pensions.

It had said the States faces a projected £100m deficit in public finances.

Deputies have been asked to support plans for a Goods and Services Tax (GST) and reforms to social security, alongside £350m of borrowing, by the committee.

The chamber's executive said it believed the island to be at a "critical crossroads" and that the full tax reform package being proposed was the most viable option.

It agreed Guernsey must accept tax rises or it must further reduce "what is already insufficient investment into infrastructure" and enter a managed decline of public sector services.

Steve Rouxel, board director of the Chamber of Commerce, said: "Alongside other cost-saving measures, we would urge P&R to investigate the measures we propose, particularly civil service pension reform as a matter of urgency, to achieve cost savings in line with global public sector pension reform developments."

The chamber added that "the major problem facing P&R is that GST as an option has a significant public relations problem".

It said: "The people of Guernsey, do not like being told that they must have it or else".

It added it would be a "big task to win the hearts and minds of the public".

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