To all on here.... my 2ps worth...... 5 statements of how things are right now to help focus on what we need to do. 1. Not one of us wants GST. Right? 2. The States made a financial black hole a few years ago. In reality they did this with the best of intentions to make sure the island remained competitive and to retain its main industry. Correct? 3. The islands economy has survived the last 6 years of recession whereas Jersey (with GST) has unfortunately fared less well. 4. The fact is that the island needs to create more revenue to be able to afford to stay in business and keep the island maintained. Looking at the state of the roads (potholes everywhere) says to me that they do not have money to do even essential repairs let alone the emergencies such as sea wall breaches due to the storms of late. 5. The States of Deliberation HAS GOT TO look at each and every way to preserve the economy even if it means there will be some losers. No one likes that, but thats how it is. So how do we do our bit to fix this potential mess? In my opinion the only way that this group can gain credibility and positively influence the States is not by whinging about GST or threatening to vote out our elected representatives because they did something unpopular. Hell, theyve been banging on about paid parking for decades and that Phoenix policy never seems to go away no matter who we vote in so dont expect this one to go away either regardless of who is in change. What we need to focus on is how we can assist the States by thinking of alternatives to GST which achieve both goals of maintaining a comfortable standard of living whilst allowing the States to increase their income to cover the ever-increasing costs of running our island. Lets be frank. This is no easy task. Personally I think GST is a poor option. As Nigel Staples rightly said, there are many businesses running at very low margins who would probably have to increase their prices or cease trading. No one wins if either of those things happens. Some ideas (just thinking out loud so please discuss and criticise).... A low/variable VAT rate combined with a reduced income tax rate (Isle of Man does this quite successfully, albeit at the same VAT rate as the UK). Being part of the EU VAT regime could allow us to relaunch exports to the UK and the EU (a modified version of the old LCVR scheme). New revenues from exports would help fill the gap without penalising local businesses and individuals, and create new jobs. Could this work? I dont know but its worth fleshing out some details with those who have experience in this area (7 Day Shop, Amazon, Play etc). There are downsides to VAT too so it has to be explored properly. Import tax. Possible and could increase revenue, but would have to apply to all imports so could affect local businesses as well as Internet purchases. Personally Im not keen on this one as it doesnt help generate new business or create new jobs. Over to you guys to discuss, but please keep it positive so we will maximise our chances of making a difference. Lets get our thinking caps on and present some options to the States. Lobby our deputies. Do whatever is needed to keep Guernsey solvent. But lets be coordinated in order to put across a unified POSITIVE message. Thanks for reading.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 09:31:46 +0000
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