Wealthy immigrant tax expectation to rise to quarter-of-a-million

Wednesday 05 July 2023

The public purse is set to get an extra £1.2m per year after politicians backed raising the tax bar for high-value residents to £250,000 – but one luxury property estate agent is warning that Jersey should be wary of pricing itself out of the market.

States Members yesterday voted in favour of a proposition from Treasury Minister Ian Gorst to increase the tax threshold from £170,000 annually.

Deputy Gorst said that this change would see Jersey’s tax take "increase considerably". The Minister told Members that these changes would "maintain a position that’s competitive overall while raising more revenue, and that is, of course, good tax policy".

"It will maintain confidence in Jersey as a jurisdiction that is open for business and investment," he added. 

Kate Ghazi, an Associate Negotiator at Fine and Country, said that Ministers should be more "mindful of adversely changing the level of attraction we have." In a previous article for her agency's magazine, she reported that "several new applications" were submitted as soon as the Government published its plans to raise the threshold.

Responding to yesterday's States Assembly result, she told Express that "any more regulation" could potentially be "deterring people who would otherwise look to Jersey" as rival destinations might offer a better package.

"Dubai offers a 0% personal tax rate and arguably a better lifestyle... Of course, we're the next best thing to London purely in terms of tax, but we have to be careful where we are positioning ourselves on a global market." 

Ms Ghazi even noted that places closer to home could start to pose a threat to Jersey's "enviable monopoly" in the high-value residency market.

"Guernsey is doing some good marketing at the moment," she said.

Deputy Gorst's proposition was adopted almost unanimously, with 44 Members voting in favour. The only one to vote against was Trinity Constable Philip Le Sueur, who did not speak during the debate.

However, despite offering their support, objections were raised by various Reform Jersey politicians.

Pictured: The States passed Deputy Ian Gorst's proposition to increase the minimum tax paid by High Value Residents. 

Deputy Sam Mézec, the party’s leader, stated that while he "saw no practical reason" not to support the proposition, he added: "I do so with a degree of resentment because while this would be a small step in the right direction, it does ultimately maintain the unfairness and discrimination upon which the foundations of this entire scheme are set."

Likewise, Deputy Rob Ward expressed his concern that the change was merely a "token gesture" and felt that "certain Members held their nose as they pressed the button".

Today, States Members are due to debate another proposal relating to high-value residency brought forward by Reform's Deputy Lyndsay Feltham, who is arguing in favour of the suspension of the scheme until high-value residents are treated in the same way as islanders who contribute the same in tax.

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EXPLAINED: Jersey's high-value residency scheme...in numbers