An amendment was brought to the States budget in Jersey’s parliament yesterday seeking to put GST (Jersey’s VAT) up to 6% but to exempt all food and fuel for the benefit of the poorest in the community.
The amendment was defeated by a narrow margin (26 to 24), but the proposer said everything that needed to be said about how regressive GST is.
Instead Jersey will put GST up from 3% to 5% on everything (except exempted items like marine diesel for your yacht and repairs on your swimming pool).
And all this to keep Jersey tax free international tax avoiders.
The time will come when the people of Jersey will say no.
And it will be sooner than many expect, I’m sure.
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Your comment gives an interesting insight into your thought processes.
Of course, it seems wrong to tax food but exempt marine diesel (exempting swimming pool repairs just seems surreal but we’ll leave that). But if you tax marine diesel people with yachts fill up with fuel in Guernsey, or Alderney, or Sark, or France.
The crux is, people want to pay the minimum amount for the products and services they use. For most people, tax is simply a part of the cost they pay. All they care about is the bottom line. And if marine diesel hada 5% tax in Jersey, any visiting yachtsman would be likely to fill up in Guernsey instead.
I should disclose, I don’t have a boat.
@mad foetus
Ah I get it
Deny them bread so you can eat cake
That’s the logic
Obvious
No Richard, the issue is simply that if you live on an Island you have to accept the world as it is, rather than as you would like it to be. Although you disagree with some of my world view, you would have to admit that my green credentials aren’t bad. I don’t like marine diesel. It’s use should be discouraged.
The market for marine diesel is local people and visiting boaters. When local people go out, they have to sail somewhere. If your diesel is more exensive than elsewhere people will buy it elsewhere. I don’t see how it is “better” for anyone for people to divert a few miles to buy fuel from Guernsey instead of Jersey.
If you want to get tax from boat owners in Jersey (and I have no problem with that), I would have thought the better way is to tax boats that are kept in Jersey based on their engine capacity. I’m happy for yachts to be tax free as they don’t cause pollution.
And I don’t think the UK charges VAT on aviation fuel does it?
@mad foetus
Agreed re green
And OK in that case a) charge GST on boats – you currently undermine UK VAT on them and b) make sure mooring fees are high enough as a tax to cover the GST loss
I bet you don’t
What business is it of yours what Jersey do with their taxation?
@Simon
You are a secrecy jurisdiction
Secrecy jurisdictions are places that intentionally create regulation for the primary benefit and use of those not resident in their geographical domain. That regulation is designed to undermine the legislation or regulation of another jurisdiction. To facilitate its use secrecy jurisdictions also create a deliberate, legally backed veil of secrecy that ensures that those from outside the jurisdiction making use of its regulation cannot be identified to be doing so.
That’s very much my business
@Simon
It’s my business too. The taxes which Jersey helps to rob my govt of, end up being paid by people like me. But more important are the taxes which Jersey steals from the poorest countries. That’s my concern too.
Hard to find info on this, but are you certain that marine fuel is GST exempt?
It is definitely duty-free, and the duty would be much more than the GST, anyhow.
Also, plant diesel is duty free, meaning the Aston-Martin driving Jersey spud farmers, can fill-up their £100,000 tractors with duty-free fuel. As if they need the tax break! But, of course Philip Ozouf is from a farming family. 😉
GST is charged on marine fuel. However work carried out on a boat, plane or house is GST exempt. Fine if you own a boat and / or plane and earn your living as a property developer I suppose 😯