Tax petition close to hitting 5,000 signatures

The move is intended to help out those hardest hit by the pandemic. Credit: ITV Channel TV

A petition to write off 2019's tax liability for previous year payers in Jersey, continues to gain support.It comes after the Treasury Minister announced tax reform proposals last week, which would see the 45,000 people who still pay tax in arrears, moved to paying as they earn.The move is intended to help out those hardest hit by the pandemic, who may be struggling to pay their 2019 tax bill on their 2020 earnings. 2019's tax liability will be frozen until 2023, when islanders will be able to repay over a number of years.Former States Member and investment manager Ben Shenton, who launched the petition, says the move itself is unfair because people paying on a Previous Year Basis never asked for a change.

In the letter sent to all island households this week, Deputy Pinel reiterated the fact that the government was not in a position to write off 2019's tax bill, one of the reasons being the Covid-19 expense which the States has incurred.

In addition, she said such a move 'would not be fair to former Prior Year Basis (PYB) payers who have already paid off their PYB liability or to Current Year Basis taxpayers.'And that is something previous year payer and business guru, Kevin Keen, is fully behind.

The proposed reforms are due to be debated in October. If the petition hits 5000 signatures, that too, could be up for discussion.