Estate agent slams "bonkers" empty shop tax

Thursday 15 November 2018

A local estate agent specialising in commercial premises has slammed proposals to tax landlords of empty shops, in a bid to regenerate the high street, as "bonkers."

Simon Buckley, the Managing Director of Buckley & Co, admitted that having empty shops was not good, but that Jersey was far from being a "ghost town."

His comments came as he appeared before the Economic Affairs Scrutiny panel - a group of politicians tasked with reviewing the island's retail policy.

Asked what opinions the foreign companies he had come into contact with had expressed about Jersey's retail sector, Mr Buckley described Jersey as somewhere "seen as a safe place to be" due to residents' higher levels of disposable income, steady economy, "safe" government, and the fact that shoppers are a "captive audience."

Pictured: Simon Buckley in front of the Economic Affairs Scrutiny Panel.

"We punch above our weight in finance, we punch above our weight in retail. We do really well in most things that what we do. We shouldn’t be beating ourselves over our retail sector, It's not perfect but it's not the end of the world," he explained.

Despite recent public criticism over the number of empty shops in town, Mr Buckley stated that there was a demand for retail premises, but that the issue was with the limited space available.

He mentioned that two "big" UK companies had approached him requesting large spaces and formats that he was unable to offer. "We are tight for space," he stated.

Mr Buckley, who said he currently has four shops currently on his books, but that two could soon be rented out, went on to describe a recent suggestion from St. Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft that empty shops should face a tax if vacant for too long as "bonkers" and an unnecessary penalisation.

Pictured: "Any empty shop window is less appealing than an occupied one," Mr Buckley said.

"I don’t know any landlords that we have acted for that are doing it on purpose. The fact you want to tax them for having the difficulty to find a tenant - it's absolutely daft. 

"I don’t know any landlord who is deliberately leaving their property empty and we want to tax them for that? You are not even trying to get them to do something different, they are already trying [to fill their properties]. Why would someone then invest in retail? Why would you take the risk in owning a shop?"

Mr Buckley suggested that landlords should instead get tax reliefs for their empty properties, like in the UK. "The Parish is getting their money anyway, why would you want to tax them?" he questioned.

He argued that the States should also be a "little more grown-up" and do more consultation when making decisions that affect retail, such as the Retail Tax, which was introduced by former Treasury Minister Alan Maclean and criticised for failing taking industry professionals' opinions into account.

"We go through a period where the Retail Tax is levied. We then go through a period where we say we should get rid of it. Mr Crowcroft is now saying we should tax empty shops, a congestion charge has been mentioned... There is no joined-up thinking. It's bonkers, it’s just silly."