Visiting worker fee to rise to counter proposed 60-day tax break

Wednesday 20 September 2023

The licence fee for visiting short-term workers is likely to rise to mitigate against a tax break proposed in the recently published Government Plan.

The plan – which proposes firm Government spending plans for next year and estimates for the following three – contains several new tax breaks, including a 60-day tax exemption for short-term business visitors.

Ministers say these incentives will help workers coming to Jersey, and support islanders investing overseas.

As well as the 60-day tax exemption for non-Jersey workers, other breaks include a credit-based unilateral relief for Jersey residents operating in another jurisdiction where there is no double-tax agreement, and a ‘super-deduction’ for businesses that invest in technology which helps firms meet their regulatory obligations.

However these new exemptions, designed to spur innovation, will deny the Treasury £450,000 next year.

On the 60-day tax break, the plan states: “Non-Jersey residents and their employers currently face administrative challenges in tracking and fulfilling their tax responsibilities for brief employment duties performed in Jersey. 

“The Government is working with businesses to refine the details of a proposal that will create a 60-day exemption period for short-term business visitors.”

Pictured: The measures in the Government plan hope to "encourage business travel to the island that will have meaningful economic benefits".

It adds: “Clear day boundaries for short term business visits are a common feature of many tax administrations. They are aimed at easing employer tax compliance for the shortest staff visits while also ensuring that tax is collected on activity that exceeds the minimum annual day limit.

“The measures in this plan will encourage business travel to the island that will have meaningful economic benefits to the businesses themselves and ancillary benefits to other sectors of the economy such as Jersey’s hospitality industry.”

Asked if this would provide an unfair tax advantage to non-Jersey businesses over local firms and traders, Treasury Minister Ian Gorst said: “That is an appropriate challenge, and we’re working with our Housing and Work colleagues to deal with that.

“And the way of dealing with that is to increase the licence fee. We’ve agreed that that is a piece of work that needs to be done to coincide with this change.”

Pictured: “This exemption is helping to deal with some of the skills shortages and people shortages," said Treasury Minister Ian Gorst.

He added: “This exemption is helping to deal with some of the skills shortages and people shortages, which is common right across all the economy. But the quid pro quo for white van man, if we can call it that, is that there needs to be an increase in their licence fee for them to come.”

Businesses from outside Jersey coming to work in the Island on a contract must have a non-resident business licence. A licence must be obtained before work starts and any worker must bring it with them when they travel to the island.

A licence is valid a year but a business or worker can apply for an extension. A licence is not needed for working a total of five days or less in a 12-month period.

A licence for working one to 30 days currently costs £563.75, and for 31 to 60 days, it is £1,127.50.