Fuel and property tax hit hard in Budget hike
Friday 12th November 2010, 9:00AM GMT.
MOTORISTS and homeowners will be hit hardest by duty increases in 2011, Treasury and Resources revealed today.
But the department’s minister said his Budget announcement today highlighted the current financial strength of the island.
Charles Parkinson (pictured) said Guernsey was in an enviable financial position compared to much of the international community and that had allowed his department to recommend a Budget that would not hit islanders too hard in the pocket.
Increases have been recommended in all categories of indirect taxation.
Duty on fuel will increase by 10.8% – 4p per litre. Homeowners will see tax on real property rise by 20%, which will amount to about a £20-£25 per year increase. Smokers and drinkers will also pay more as duty on tobacco and alcohol will go up by 4.6% and 3.5% respectively.
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Before we all complain I think we should remember we have an additional 89 civil servants to fund. How did we ever manage without them…..?
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Even taking these increasess into account, your petrol is still cheaper than in the uk, and you use far less of it. Tobacco again is still cheaper too so it does not seem so bad.
Lucky for me i am moving to the island in a few weeks!
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For someone that drives and owns a home but doesnt drink or smoke, I’m really chuffed with this budget.
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Surely it is time to introduce say a 25% tax band for higher earners, over £60,000 or increase social insurance for them. I don’t know how much revenue it would generate but it would at least send a message as, more than virtually anywhere else in the developed world, this island is only for the rich and has no intention of tackling poverty or even being fair to middle income earners. The rich should pay for the deplorable social services and mental health care Guernsey provides. There may be too many pen pushers in Frossard House but because there is no transparency it’s difficult to know what productivity is like within the civil service.
For Doctors, Dentists, Lawyers; Guernsey is a licence to print money but no one seems to care
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So, as I wend my weary way back home in my large car smoking a cigarette and knocking back a pint or two, I finally realize that my paranoia is actual and that the States are really out to get me. Hah!
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So the answer is to increase indirect taxation is it.
Our feeble States are so behind the curve its incredible. They appear to be morphing into “New Labour”.
No sign of any cost reductions I’ll wager (oops can’t afford one of those now) – inflationary, shortsighted and above all……tired.
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Why not just reduce the amount of civil servants, and reduce their wages too? Job done :)
We’re recycling more than ever, so our rates should be reducing.
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Dave Haslam how can you be happy. You have been subjected to a 30.8% rise whereas if you smoked and drank instead you’d only see an 8.1% rise
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Oh and Tim
Depending on your personal circumstances don’t just look at the usual budget headlines. If you are a higher rate taxpayer in the UK and will have a mortgage and life insurance here, with the tax relief you will probably feel well off. The huge difference is domestic rates compared to council tax (see article though). Unless you are moving from London or the South East you will also notice the cost of some everyday goods and services can be more expensive. Many companies do not deduct the cost of VAT and blame the extra shipping costs. However the internet provides access to loads of goods VAT free. As I said if you are a high earner fine, if not, it’s swings and roundabouts really. Don’t forget your extra travel costs either
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Tim and you will find the cost of living here is more expensive so dont cheer too much.
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Public Servant,
I assume you work out Dave Haslam’s 30.8% penalty by adding 10.8% and 20%, but that’s meaningless. You need to put numbers to it to get some meaningful figures.
For example, suppose he currently pays £100 p/a TRP and £800 on fuel, of which about £300 is duty.
The extra he will pay is £20 on TRP, and about £30 on fuel. That’s £50 extra a year.
That’s not exactly going to mean cancelling the family holiday…
While we’re at it, the Press’s front-page big bulletpoint which says ‘petrol up by 11%’ is simply false.
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i appreciate other costs are higher, rent or mortgages being the biggest, down to a loaf of bread being over a £1 and it not being Warburtons either lol
I still can’t wait to get there, and start a new life with my family though, your island has so much that locals do take for granted, i know this i married one!
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The best idea is to jack in your jobs and live off the states, they are nearly taking every penny i have now, i may as well pretend i am ill and sit back and have a easy life !
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Chris J
I see where you’re coming from, my pay rise of 1.5% on £40,000 is nothing like a rise of 1.5% on £100,000 is it.
I work in the public sector not for Ernst and Young you know.
Dave will spend an extra £50.00 on TRP and fuel duty and I will easily spend an extra £50.00 next year on alcohol duty alone.
Trouble is indirect taxes always hit the poorest hardest. You shouldn’t belittle £50.00.
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Public servant
Sorry
I was being completely sarcastic! (I know its difficult to convey sarcasm on an internet forum)
My ire comes from the fact that out of the 4 tax hikes listed in the article, I dont really have a choice in having to drive my car, and I dont really see being a homeowner as a choice either.
So quite why 2 mandatory parts of most peoples lives are being taxed higher than 2 things I would consider luxuries, I think is a little unfair.
And Chris, alternatively you could say £50 is a school uniform or a weeks shopping! A holiday is luxury that some already cant afford.
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Tim
I don’t know if you’re up for this but it would be very interesting if you were to post your feelings on life in Guernsey over the next few months
Us Guerns do take a lot for granted
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I can moan about things as much as the next Guern, and proud of it too. But i don’t know what we really have to complain about England and the rest of the world is in so much debt its mind boggling, riots in France, Greece riots again due to real austerity measures, Ireland on the brink of collapse. We still have some money in the bank, low unemployment, low crime rates and for a large part of the population a good standard of living…. Yet we still have to moan about paying a bit more. I agree real poverty must be addressed in Guernsey, however the rest of us should be counting our lucky stars.
The states need to work harder on effencies but really try living elsewhere and you might have something serious to moan about!!!!!
Financially we are in a pretty good place right now! Have some thought for anyone reading these postings outside our island who are really experiencing hardships….. Maybe the States aren’t as greedy or short sighted as other governments, there’s a thought :)
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So we’re financially strong but still we need to tax the peasants even more? Make your mind up Parky. And only a 20% rise in property tax? Where’s your backbone tovarich?
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Don’t forget your new waste water charge in April adds, we are told, another approx £150-00 per year to your household bill. That will certainly cancel out any rises that OAP’s will get on their pensions, add to that the budget with no additional tax allowances, and the expected rise in Electricity and most of our poorer and pensioners earnings will have dropped considerably.
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Tim
You’re right to look forward to your move. There are whingers wherever you go and to be fair there are also some negatives about life in the Bailiwick. However, I suspect most of the negative comments are from those who’ve not had the dubious pleasure of living in the UK for some time if ever.
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Public Servant, Dave Haslam,
Don’t get me wrong, I realise £50 may be a lot for some, I just wanted to make the point that we should be on guard against the inevitable sensational reporting of the rises in this budget, and misleading impression it might give.
They also distract attention away from the meaty issues. For example the tax allowance freeze is basically equivalent to a £30-£40 poll tax on everyone who pays income tax (assuming around 2% RPI) – and double that for a married sole earner. It’ll be the same levy for everyone, whether you earn £16k or £160k, and there’s nothing you can do to avoid it.
Where’s the uproar about that then?
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Welcome Tim ,you will find Guernsey much like england (mainly because there are so many english people here ) and your ears will be assaulted by many diverse and foreign accents such as liverpool /manchester and london .but already you have fallen into the trap before you even got here, by thinking that because things are slightly cheaper here than england, then thats ok ,by comparing the cost of fuel to being a few pence cheaper you have to bear in mind that less than two years ago it was half the price of what it is today .
and as for not using so much ,you will also find that by driving around aimlessly thru badly thought out diversions, the price you pay for pouring unburnt fuel out of the exhaust is nothing short of a rip off .the point is that commodoties and the cost of living here used to be way below the uk and by saying that it’s still less than england ,thats ok ,is not much of a comparison.
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Dear Tim – I would just like to say that I am glad that you are looking forward to moving to our lovely island. As a Guernsey girl, married with a young family, I would like to assure you that despite the many negative comments that regularly appear on this site Guernsey is a relatively lovely place to live and bring up children etc. Yes it is not Utopia but if you appreciate the positives eg the beautiful and easily accessible coastline, relatively low crime rate, low personal taxation (compared to the Uk), great island-wide schooling and many other factors then you will enjoy living here. Life’s what you make it – if you see the negative in everything nothing will ever make you happy – wishing you a positive future!
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Ray – Hello – mum22
Am happy to do that Ray, although not sure where i would post it. maybe you can let me know about that.
thank mum22 – i have been over many times and love the place, the boys are to go to vauvert school where my wife attended and am sure they will enjoy it.
There are so many benefits to being there, for one i will no longer commute an hour each way to work n back, so i can have tea with the family!
Regards to the waste charge i read, we pay £100 per month council tax, so the fact you pay £150 a year sounds like bliss to me.
I am under no illusion that the cost of living is higher, but the quality of life far out weighs that compared to the uk.
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Tim,
Despite the rates and fuel being cheaper, you may not necessarily be better off here.
Guernsey, like anywhere, has its good and bad points. Life is always a balancing act so you just have to figure out what your priorities are. Remember when your children are a bit older (assuming they are currently very young), boredom can be a bit of a problem for some. Remember it is very expensive to get off the island. You can’t just jump in the car and go somewhere completely different at the weekend. Having said that Guernsey does its best to make life as interesting as it can with a limited amount of space.
Good luck.
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Welcome Tim & family to Guernsey, yes it is a lovely place to live,and bring up children, we all have a moan about things but really we have nothing to moan about compared to some people.
I hope you enjoy living in Guernsey, believe me if you like Guernsey in November you will love it here in the spring/summer.
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Tim
http://www.thisisguernsey.com/yourshout
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Astonishing that the leisure boat fraternity are exempt from fuel duty. Most of the commercials fill out of tankers and the others come alongside with their GU numbers loud and proud. Can’t be that hard to switch from exempt to not exempt charging.
The consultation had a 130 responses. Ask the bankers if they want to pay tax……hold on a minute……we did!!
Boats diverting to Crappaudsville has never washed. Are we being asked to suspend disbelief and accept that passaging boat owners are going to make a 30 mile detour to fill up with tax free fuel? B***cks.
Boat use is a luxury hobby and not the ‘working Guerns’ hobby as some would have you believe. Big bits of plastic should pay their whack. Marina prices are as cheap as hell over here anyway. Boaties are getting the deal of the century!! Ok – which of the Deps on Treasury have got a boat?
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Tim
Sorry I was being a bit thick in yesterday’s post.
You will also need a ‘thread’ to latch on to when this one expires
I suppose you could always try to resurrect this thread by typing in the top right search box this particular thread heading ‘Fuel and property tax hit hard’ or probably the best bet is to latch on to any ‘sympathetic’ thread in the coming months
You will see how often posters,including me,tend to stray off the title subject
Remember, there are no problems in life .. just opportunities
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Minger
I believe the idea of fuel duty on road vehicle fuel serves to act as a contribution to roads and free parking.
What services would marine fuel duty cover?
Your post appears more the politics of envy?
I don’t own or sail a boat.
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Minger – what a ridiculous post.
The purpose for the tax on ROAD fuel was to abolish road tax – although this has been hijacked as most suspected it would.
Therefore marine fuel should not be subject to road taxation should it? Although I’m sure you will be delighted to hear that marine petrol is taxed (for some bizarre reason).
If you think that boating isn’t the “working Guerns” hobby then you, sir, are a nincumpoop.
Also – if you do some research – you’ll find that marina fess in Guernsey are on a par with similar provisions in the UK.
You may also like to know that the Harbours turn in a fair old operatiing profit which helps swell the coffers for the likes of you to enjoy.
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Tim – to me the best thing about Guernsey is the beaches, here you are only 15 minutes away from a beach, and if you decide you want a different beach, you can pack up and go to another one down the road! No three hour tail backs here, even with the many diversions!!
I spent over 10 years living in the UK so now that I am home again I appreciate the Island so much more.
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Charles Parkinson budget announcement of tax of 20% on real property amongst other things said that most of us would only see a small rise in our TRP! He would have you believe that. Mine is going to cost me a whopping £121.50 per year more!! Yes and I am working class with an average ok job. If I was collecting the old age pension (won’t be long now) I would be paying approx £20 per WEEK in tax to the States for the privilege of having the house. Will be in the gutter by then. How is that fair on us.Comparing us to the UK is nonense.
Where is all going to end. It won’t be long before a lot of people over here loose their jobs, have their house repossessed and then won’t be able to pay all the high stealth charges. Come on we all know Guernsey is a lovely place to live but it is so getting unaffordable to live here. None of my kids can afford to buy a house even though they are working and their partners as well. How is that fair?
On another note how come people in States Housing do not pay these property charges/tax etc and refuse collection. They should after all us taxpayers are subsiding them. Make them pay as well. Take note David Jones!!
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They will need to raise all the taxes they can to pay for the runway extension
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Yes Maz spoken like a true Guern, you do not appreciate this little Island until you leave it.
I have known many families emigrated to Australia and were there for many years, but lo and behold they’re back, you just cannot take Guernsey out of the Guernseyman.
We will put up with price rises and high social insurance, we will adapt our way of life, just to live in this beautiful island.
In saying that I do not know how people adjust to living here when they have come from larger places it must be a bit cramped.
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Valeite – Thanks for the welcome, ive been over in all seasons and love it, not that you really have a winter, for example i am looking forward to not having to ride my motorbike every day doing a 40 mile round trip in snow!
Ray – i will certainly start a thread, although i’m not sure how many people will be interested in it.
Maz – Your right about the beaches they are lovely and the sea is so blue, unlike here where you drive for 3 hours to get to one only to find it over crouded and the sea more green than blue!
Regards the cost of living we are not moving to save money, i know things will cost us more, and we are prepared for that, its just the right thing to do for the whole family.
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Wow Dellquay you must have a big house! TRP at the moment over £600! when the average house is around the £150 mark.
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For me the taxes and cost of things bares no relation on my decision to want to move back to Guernsey. I was raised in Guernsey but have lived in the UK now for nearly 10 years. I simply miss my family and the way of life on the island and want to come home.
Its the little things that I am looking forward to, like Tim said, having him home at tea time every evening with me and the children, not having to drive an hour to work each day, having the beach only 10 minutes away, the safer and more laid back life style.
It probably won’t cost any more or less, some things are more expensive and some things are less, so what, thats not the issue for me. I don’t really care how much things cost, I just want to come home. Luckily for me Tim has visited so many times he sees it as home anyway and he can’t wait either.
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Mike,
I wonder if Dellquay is confusing TRP (levied by T&R) with parish rates (levied by the parishes).
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I think the states should ask for more after the great work they have done and treat them self to a big holiday.
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Tim Guernsey is a nice place to live as you realise.
For most it is still cheaper to live here than the UK although if you earn a really low wage then you may be better of in the UK financially speaking. However the UK is putting a squeeze on benefits so that may not be true for long.
There is a problem here in that young people cannot afford houses and rents are high.
Traffic jams can be mad too. All schools here are much much better than the average UK school.
Sounds to me as Tim has children and a Guernsey wife he is making a wise move, good luck to him.
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Oh yea, if you find yourself without work then train as plumber here, they are so expensive and hard to get hold of…
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Jas
Thanks for that, much appreciated!
I have a few interviews next week there and hopefully the salaries will be ok, well they sound promising so we will see.
As far as plumbers go, i could train as one if all else fails, my brother in law in Guernsey is one so i could learn from him.
if you need a good plumber though just let me know and i will get you his details lol
Cheers
Tim
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Jas
You’re absolutely right about plumbers
You could probably add stonemasons , plasterers,electricians and other hands on occupations to the list
I can’t understand why so many youngsters,and their parents, are gripped by the fear that if they don’t go to Uni they will be a failure in later life
What use they think a 2:1 BA honours degree in Media studies or David Beckham will be beats me
Stay home,learn a useful trade and prosper
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You are absolutely right Ray, going to Uni is not the passport to success that it was once thought to be.
Wonder how much longer tradesmen will have so much work they can demand such high hourly rates. Probably for sometime yet, there still seems to be plenty building going on in Guernsey even though the rest of the world has gone backwards on that point.
And Tim I have two baths that need replacing, I got a plumber but he’s not that easy to actually do something, so you could put your plumber on here, but he would be mobbed by the rush of work going his way and that may be seen as advertising :)
Still Tim you off to a good start if you have tradesmen in your near family, cus sometimes to renovate a guernsey house you could buy a uk house with the same money.
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Jas – i guess it Absolute ;) ly could be seen as advertising so i will make sure i dont do that lol.
I am over on Tuesday back Wednesday so i will tell Ian to look at this, mind surely if you start at the begining of the phone book it will not take long to get somebody good.
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