The States is voting this week on Policy and Resources’ (P&R) tax proposals, including introducing GST.
Yesterday a delaying motion – called a sursis motivé – failed narrowly, by 22 votes to 17.
So, today the States of Deliberation will debate a staggering 22 amendments, proposing everything from a levy on supercars to an Appropriations Committee tasked with reining in the States’ spending.
The flurry of dramatic challenges includes other ideas from a total ban on GST to a referendum on it.
Taxpayers face a nail-biting wait to see which of these radical changes – of any – will reshape Guernsey’s economy forever.
Here’s what all 22 amendments are proposing:
- Appropriations Committee
(Deputy Garry Collins, Deputy Haley Camp)
This proposal aims to scrap the current tax package in favour of establishing a dedicated ‘Appropriations Committee’ by September 2026 to review all public spending and identify sustainable savings. They argue the States must exhaustively identify efficiencies and trim waste before demanding more cash from the public. - Ban GST
(Deputy Liam McKenna, Deputy Simon Vermeulen)
This amendment seeks to ban GST outright and immediately halt all ongoing preparations to introduce the consumption tax. The deputies believe that GST is an unnecessary burden on local households and should be permanently taken off the table. - Referendum
(Deputy Liam McKenna, Deputy Simon Vermeulen)
This calls for a binding, binary referendum to be held by late October 2026 to ask the electorate: “Do you support the introduction of a GST? Yes or No.” They argue that a tax as contentious as GST has consumed too much parliamentary time and must be decided directly by the people of Guernsey. - Child Responsibility Tax Allowance
(Deputy Andy Sloan, Deputy Munazza Malik)
This proposal directs the introduction of a new “Child Responsibility Tax Allowance” to protect families with dependent children under the new tax framework. It aims to safeguard household budgets and ensure the tax reform remains genuinely progressive. - Simpler, fairer tax system
(Deputy Andy Sloan, Deputy Mark Helyar)
This directs the government to explore the development of a “single common tax rate framework” as part of longer-term fiscal planning. The objective is to design a simpler, fairer, and more robust alternative tax structure for Guernsey’s future. - Cap States spending at inflation
(Deputy Andy Sloan, Deputy Mark Helyar)
This aims to cap total States expenditure growth at the rate of inflation for the years 2027, 2028, and 2029. The proposers argue that long-term fiscal sustainability requires strict government spending discipline alongside tax changes. - No GST on food or non-alcoholic drinks
(Deputy Aidan Matthews, Deputy Andy Sloan)
This seeks to completely zero-rate all food and non-alcoholic drinks from any future GST. The deputies argue that taxing everyday essentials would unfairly penalise poorer households and worsen Guernsey’s cost-of-living crisis. - Ditch the income tax and social security cuts
(Deputy Mark Helyar, Deputy Andy Sloan)
This bid proposes excluding the planned personal income tax cuts and social security contribution allowances from the reform package. By keeping these rates stable, it seeks to raise an extra £25m to plug the deficit, arguing that restoring the island’s finances is a shared, collective responsibility. - Make the Lieutenant-Governor pay income tax
(Deputy Gavin St Pier, Deputy Tina Bury)
This amendment seeks to end the local income tax exemption for Guernsey’s Lieutenant-Governor, starting with the next officeholder’s term. The proposers state that the island cannot in good conscience ask the general public to pay more tax while keeping its highest representative tax-free. - Raise tax allowances with inflation
(Deputy Gavin St Pier, Deputy Tom Rylatt)
This proposes annually uprating the personal income tax allowance, social security contribution allowance, and the 20% higher tax threshold in line with inflation. The aim is to prevent “fiscal drag” from quietly eroding the value of the compensatory packages meant to protect lower-income families. - Evaluate social security
(Deputy Gavin St Pier, Deputy Andy Sloan)
This calls for a deeper, long-term examination of the role that social security contributions play within Guernsey’s broader revenue base. It aims to ensure that the social security system is thoroughly evaluated for its equity and long-term sustainability. - Two-thirds majority to increase GST
(Deputy Tom Rylatt, Deputy Gavin St Pier)
This amendment would require a two-thirds majority in the States to weaken or repeal any of the financial mitigations introduced to protect lower-income islanders from GST. The move is designed to make the progressive safeguards in the tax package highly durable and difficult for future assemblies to dilute. - Hold committees accountable for savings and spending
(Deputy Haley Camp, Deputy Garry Collins)
This calls for the publication of a comprehensive “Savings and Service Optimisation Programme” detailing every expected spending reduction, delivery milestone, and risk up to 2029. This is aimed at enforcing transparency and holding committees accountable for public sector savings. - Scrap GST in favour of corporate levy and other taxes
(Deputy Haley Camp, Deputy Garry Collins)
This proposal seeks to scrap both GST and the associated income tax and social security reforms, instead introducing alternative transport taxes, a Visitor Levy, and a new Corporate Levy on registered Guernsey companies. The proposers argue this would raise necessary funds without imposing a costly and complex new consumption tax. - Exempt Alderney utilities from GST
(Representative Alexander Snowdon, Representative Edward Hill)
This bid directs that any agreed tax package must legally protect Alderney Electricity Ltd and the Alderney Water Board from paying GST. The representatives argue this is vital to prevent spiralling utility costs for Alderney residents, who already pay significantly higher energy bills than Guernsey. - No GST on food produced by small food businesses
(Deputy Marc Leadbeater, Deputy Andy Cameron)
This seeks to set GST at 0% for food produced or grown by small, independent local suppliers. It aims to support Guernsey’s agricultural heritage and protect small food businesses from disproportionate administrative burdens. - Underutilised Property Levy (UPL)
(Deputy Min Tat “David” Goy, Deputy Aidan Matthews)
Part of Deputy Goy’s 3-pillar PIT strategy. This specific proposal targets Guernsey’s housing crisis by investigating a punitive “Underutilised Property Levy” on long-term vacant dwellings. It is designed to incentivise owners of empty properties to return them to the market, easing the island’s critical land and housing shortages. - Premium Road Levy
(Deputy Min Tat “David” Goy, Deputy Aidan Matthews)
This directs the investigation of a “Premium Road Levy,” comprising a one-off first registration premium and an annual surcharge on luxury, high-powered vehicles. This progressive framework aims to fund capital infrastructure projects by targeting high-resource vehicle owners while strictly shielding normal working families. - Remove GST and transport taxes
(Deputy Min Tat “David” Goy, Deputy Aidan Matthews)
This amendment seeks to delete GST, social security hikes, and new transport taxes from the reform package. The deputies argue that broad-based, regressive measures place an unfair cost-of-living burden on middle-income households and that revenue raising should focus on those with the greatest economic capacity. - High-Value Document Duty
(Deputy Min Tat “David” Goy, Deputy Aidan Matthews)
This calls for a “High-Value Document Duty” multiplier framework to apply a progressive surcharge on residential property purchases exceeding £2.5 million. The goal is to ensure that premium real estate buyers contribute a fair, progressive share toward Guernsey’s capital infrastructure. - Fair Contribution Levy (FCL)
(Deputy Min Tat “David” Goy, Deputy Aidan Matthews)
The final part of Deputy Goy’s 3-pillar PIT strategy. This proposes a “Fair Contribution Levy” targeting high-value properties where occupants contribute very little local income tax relative to their home’s value. The levy aims to close loopholes where high-wealth households avoid making a proportionate contribution to public services. - Wealth Tax
(Deputy Tina Bury, Deputy Jayne Ozanne)
This directs that longer-term tax planning must include an objective, independent examination of wealth and asset-based taxation. The proposers want an evidence-based assessment to see if high-net-worth individuals can contribute more to the island’s fiscal sustainability without damaging local business competitiveness.
