GUERNSEY’S chief minister yesterday took the opportunity ahead of what looks to be a protracted States meeting on the island’s waste strategy and a vote of no confidence in the Public Accounts Committee to provide an update on the corporate tax review, the process that will replace zero-10.

It was immediately welcomed by the Chamber of Commerce, which said that it contained a strong message from the Policy Council with regard to maintaining Guernsey’s competitive position during the review of corporate tax ‘and as such will be of benefit to you and others in discussions with current or potential clients and their advisers’.

The chief minister certainly went out of his way to emphasise that the States-endorsed presumption of a 10% rate is just that – nothing more or less than a guide.

He also, as Chamber picked up, stressed the desire to remain as, or more, competitive than any key competitor jurisdiction.

What the statement did not do, however, was to provide any timetable for when the new regime will be in place. If anything, it did the opposite, explaining the early stage of the process and the need for consultation.

What the financial services sector needs, particularly in these difficult times, is certainty. Until advisers know what tax rate the island will adopt – and, more importantly, what will be acceptable to the EU – they and Guernsey will continue to lose business. The current situation is very damaging and the statement did nothing to relieve that.

Additionally, Guernsey and the political process has been criticised for showing its hand too soon by declaring a presumption of 10% while Jersey and the Isle of Man, supposedly working closely with this island, have been remarkably silent on their plans.

While they may well have had the same advice as Guernsey on a zero strategy being non-compliant, the message going out is that they might emerge with an edge on Guernsey, which is also damaging for business.

And the chief minister’s own phrase about remaining competitive did not specifically exclude the other Crown Dependencies.

So are we working with or against Jersey and the Isle of Man or not?

The chief minister might well know – but he isn’t saying.