ISLANDERS could be hit by a new tax as Guernsey looks to a greener future. A report by the energy policy steering group is expected to go to the States in July with measures to reduce the island’s carbon footprint.
Treasury minister Charles Parkinson (pictured), who was a member of the group in the previous States term, said that could mean a carbon tax. He yesterday also revealed his desire to see a tax credit system to protect lower and middle-income families from the burden of zero-10, but said there was a lot of debate needed as to how that would be funded.
Deputy Parkinson said the energy report recommended setting up a commission to co-ordinate the exploration of renewable energy potential – Guernsey’s tidal power resource is one of the best in the world.
‘Clearly we need to have in place a lot of things, the legal framework to license the development of resources around the island but also a tax system that supports that development,’ he said.
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3 Article Comments
I am a bit disturbed about the potential for increasing the complexity of the Island tax system. I thought the states were meant to be reducing administration costs? The whole idea of potential green taxes as well as tax credits just demostrates that complicating the system requires further complicating it later on to take the people who can’t afford increases out of the net. Tax credits (complex and expensive to implement) and green taxes (either complex and expensive or simple and hit everyone despite affordabilty) are good examples of political meddling that just leads to more cost for islanders and higher taxes to pay the cost of admin. Vicious circle; don’t go there folks, look what Gordon Brown has done to the UK economy with “Clever” schemes. Keep it simple, keep admin down, stay competitive and stay fair. Let islanders do thier own green bit, don’t tax.
Green taxes in principle are a good idea in order to encourage people to reduce their carbon footprint. However, it is no good hitting people with a green tax if there is no affordable alternative. The tax should be used to provide subsidies to enable islands to use greener alternative, e.g. micro-generation, public transport, green vehicles, kerb-side recycling. What a green tax should not be used for is propping up the rest of the states because they’ve got the income/companies tax system wrong.
As for tax credits - in the UK they have been a complete waste of time and money. If the tax system is kept simple and fair there shouldn’t be a need for tax credits.
I was angry to read of a proposed green tax by Charles Parkinson. He has only been treasury minister in the new states for a couple of weeks and already he is thinking of new ways to tax us. How dare he. With the personal tax allowance frozen indefinitely and much higher rateable values on our houses and other stealth taxes how can he possibly expect us Islanders to afford any more taxes out of our wages. We will all be below the poverty line soon or most of us anyway!
We can all do out bit to reduce our carbon footprint without taxing us up to the hilt.
As for the possibility of a Tax Credit System, who is that going to benefit in the long run. It would be complicated and messy to implement. Just leave well alone. Help us all by raising the personal tax allowance in 2009 to what it should be instead of making it much harder for us to live here. Now wouldn’t that make for good news!