Past and present deputies will come together this Sunday for a public presentation against the introduction of a Goods and Services Tax.
The event will “discuss why we SHOULD NOT be revisiting the introduction of GST and what the States should do instead”.
The public presentation will take place just three days before the States meet to decide whether GST should be levied on food if it is introduced.
Starting at 15:00 on 22 February at Les Cotils, the presentation will be led by former Deputy Mr Meerveld, who fell short of being re-elected last June by around 200 votes.
A panel of current deputies Liam McKenna, Simon Vermeulen, Haley Camp, and Rob Curgenven will answer questions.
Each have previously voiced an opposition to GST being introduced, with Mr Meerveld pointing to “huge financial losses” from mismanaged States projects and a significant backlog in the collection of income taxes, as evidence that the government must address internal inefficiencies before introducing new charges.
They argue the Assembly has not yet had “the difficult conversation” about limiting the breadth of services the State provides, suggesting that reducing costs should be a priority over raising taxes.
The organisers are also suggesting exploring other ways to generate revenue without increasing the tax burden on residents, such as “leasing our seabed for the construction of an offshore wind farm”.
Deputy McKenna is laying an amendment supported by Deputy Vermeulen next week to try and overturn the past decision on introducing GST. He said he’s expecting some support as a majority of our current deputies said they were opposed to the new tax during last year’s election campaign.
“The majority of deputies opposed the introduction of GST in their manifestos when elected just eight months ago,” he said.
“On February 25, the Assembly is being asked to approve committing further funds and resources to exploring the introduction of GST yet again.
“The amendment I am laying with the support of Deputy Vermeulen calls on all the Deputies who said they oppose the introduction of GST to honour their commitment to the electorate by opposing the introduction of GST now, avoiding any further wasted funding on something the vast majority of our community does not want.”
Both Mr Meerveld and Deputy McKenna have been long outspoken against the introduction of GST.
The duo, alongside Deputy Chris Blin, led a major anti-GST protest in 2023, with thousands of people marching on St Peter Port to support the ‘Say No to GST’ campaign.
Conservative estimates suggested that around 2,000 people took part in the walk from North Beach to Market Square, whilst some claimed that it was closer to 5,000.
The protest was in vain though, when deputies effectively “paved the way” for GST to be introduced when a vote in November 2024 landed 20 to 15 in favour of an amendment that directed the States to continue preparatory work for a 5% GST, as part of the ‘GST-plus’ package of changes.