Union backing public sector workers as cutbacks loom - Isle of Man Today .
THE president of trade union Prospect has pledged its support for members in the Manx public sector as government cutbacks loom.Catherine Donaldson visited the Island on Monday in the wake of government warnings there could be public sector job losses to cope with a massive loss of income from VAT.
The reality is there is no need for cuts: the Isle of Man can readily afford its public services. It just has to be willing to raise sensible levels of tax to pay for them.
NB Views expressed are mine alone
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Many people in th epublic sector will certainly lose their jobs. To the extent you congratulate yourself on the VAT raid on the Isle of Man, you should never forget that this is a consequence of it.
Of course
But the consequence need not be unfavourable
A perfectly adequate tax base exists to pay for the services Manx people want
With office rentals in Douglas at about £20 per square foot, it sounds as if there is a decent bit of land value waiting for the government to collect to keep its public services going. If it does not, it will not be so attractive for the tax-dodging companies who are sustaining this land value through the government’s tax haven policies.
It is disingenuous of Richard Murphy to say that there is an adequate tax base for the Manx Government to draw. He must know perfectly well that the global players who provide much of the Manx GDP will high tail it out of here at the sniff of the loss of zero corporation tax. We will therefore be another basket case like the bankrupt UK.
Wooley – I wouldn’t be too sure. Look at Cyprus, Malta and others.
Zero tax isn’t the be all and end all by any means.
Don’t also forget the new business that the Isle of Man is attracting in other sectors.