GUERNSEY could be about to introduce GST after all – having discovered a ‘surprising’ £52m hole in their finances.
The island’s Treasury Department say that they might have to add a penny to income tax and introduce a 3% sales tax to fill their tax gap. It will be embarrassing news for Guernsey’s politicians – although Jersey started preparing for hard times several years ago, Guernsey’s Chief Minister, Deputy Lyndon Trott, told an Institute of Directors meeting in early 2008 that although they had a GST law ‘on the books’ they might not have to bring it into force.
Last February, he said that income tax, economic expansion and interest from their Strategic Reserve could fill their black hole, given continued economic growth. Jersey’s then-Treasury Minister, Senator Terry Le Sueur – now the Island’s Chief Minister – described Deputy Trott’s view of Guernsey’s economic prospects as an optimistic one at the time.
Pictured: How the Guernsey Press reported the tax findings
