Union hits out at tax proposals

And the business community has reacted with concern at the prospect of new and higher taxes, saying that costs will have to be passed on to customers and that, in turn, will fuel inflation.It was revealed in Saturday’s JEP that the Finance and Economics Committee is likely to recommend a mixture of new taxes to make up a shortfall that could be as high as £100m when the Island moves to introduce a zero rate of corporate income tax.Finance president Senator Terry Le Sueur said that the new taxes may even be brought into force before the zero corporate rate is introduced in order to allow a build up of revenues as a buffer.The president of the Jersey Chamber of Commerce, Bob Hassell, said that although it is almost inevitable that some new forms of taxation will have to be introduced to tackle the shortfall, he said that his members want to see the States cutting its own costs before looking at introducing new taxes.