The £11 million vessel Tickled Pink has been staying in the Island recently
CHANGES have been made to GST rules to encourage more super yachts to berth in the Island.
It has been agreed that yachts owned by non-residents should be allowed to stay in the Island for an extra six months without incurring the three per cent tax.
Until now, yachts owned by non-residents could stay in Jersey ports for up to a year without GST being charged. That time has been extended to 18 months. The new rules also allow the 18-month time period to restart if the yacht leaves Jersey waters for a period of longer than 14 days before returning.
The rule change, which takes immediate effect, should make it easier to attract more super-yachts such as the giant £11 million Tickled Pink.
Tax expert John Shenton said that it was estimated that
about ten per cent of the value of a yacht was spent each year in keeping it in a port, so a £10 million yacht would attract spending of about £1 million
annually.
Article posted on 23rd November, 2009 - 3.01pm
76 Article Comments
Those that have…..
Could someone please ask Tez and his cronies to have the courage of his convictions and state for the record that me and mine, amongst many others, are not wanted because we do not contribute to the system and could we please sod off !!!
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Disgracful!
Once again the rich will get away with it.
No wonder we are all fed up with the way this island is run.
One law for the elite and another for the rest of us.
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And in the same issue, Terry Le Main wants to effectively re-introduce annual Road Tax to raise money for environmental projects ! And how environmentally unfreindly are such large motor yachats ?
Interseting article in yesterdaya Mail on Sunday about pollution from ships – Apparently 16 super cargo boats produce as much pollution as ALL of the cars in the world added together.
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Superyachts generally have crew living on board to maintain the vessel, does this mean the law will be changed to allow them to live in the harbours which is currently not allowed? If so will this start the housing qualifications clock ticking?
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@bella #2
“…One law for the elite and another for the rest of us…”
How so? this proposal appears not to differentiate between the elite and anybody else; just between resident and non-resident; are you saying that not living in Jersey makes you elite?!
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I take it that they won,t be removing the duty free status on boat fuel then?
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‘Tax expert John Shenton said that it was estimated that about ten per cent of the value of a yacht was spent each year in keeping it in a port, so a £10 million yacht would attract spending of about £1 million
annually.’
I would say the amount spent would vary widely depending on if the yacht was in active use or just resting and how much time it spent in its home port.
If it is just moored up with a skeleton crew and an occasional run to France to keep it going plus a bit of maintenance while the owner is buzzing around the world in his jet then the money spent keeping it in port will be a lot less than £1M.
Maybe I know the wrong kind of yachtie but most of them do not spend ten percent of the value of their boats per year!
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Sorry I thought that when amendments have been put before the States for changes / exemptions regarding GST for normall everyday items not only were they ignored but did they not say it was difficult to change the legislation and it would be better to wait al least three years to see where the problems were!!
Sorry three years are not up, and this was obviously hushed throught the States
Why is it that people that can least afford extra are being targeted and the richer are efectively richer???
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Memo to Treasurery from the Chieff
We can’t afford to support heritahge, we plan to raise taxes to the masses, but hey I might get a free G+T from a 1/1K so of course we shoudl change GST, oh a we cant afford to incresae the eduction spend either.
Memo From Treasury
OK – just putting the rest of the sheep out for the night sir so see you on board later.
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I feel sorry for Tez and his mates. They really are trying their best to appease the spending Leviathan that the States have become. Not content with hitting ‘Joe Public’ in the pocket with the last ‘budget’, they have now alienated the electorate further by this latest stroke of genius. I think I understand it, the mega rich bobbing around on their gin palaces, with duty free fuel are now exempt GST for 18 months. Then they can sail off somewhere else, thus paying zero! Genius.
The argument that 10% of the value, which is only an estimate, is also flawed. These boats are crewed by non-locals and are normally brought in only when the owner wants a trip round the bay, so where and how will they spend money?
I’m sure this will sit well with most ordinary people. Roll on the next elections . . .
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#5
If they are not to pay Gst on their 10 million yachts they must be up with the elite and privilidged.
Its probably mere schoolboys pocket money to them.
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Absolutely disgraceful. People who have such super-yachts can afford 3% on what they are spending on these monstrous luxuries. Even if they spend a million a year, which as other posters have pointed out is unlikely, GST would only be 30 000 which is CHICKEN FEED in those rarified realms.
What are the STates up to? Smoothing the road for money-launderers and drug-dealers?
“Overpopulated” #4 asks good questions which need looking at.
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Warren J “And in the same issue, Terry Le Main wants to effectively re-introduce annual Road Tax to raise money for environmental projects ! And how environmentally unfreindly are such large motor yachats ?”
Love your spelling of yachts, unless of course you are referring to the motorised yachat which is an Albanian plow?
If road tax is to be reintroduced will the duty on fuel be lowered as it was increased when road tax was scrapped? or does the working man bend over and say aah again.
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Bella, Bond et al, have you not read the article?! We are talking about non-residents. So people that should not be contributing to our taxes anyway.
The yachts won’t be here at all if GST applied to them. They would go to other ports to avoid sales tax. The point is that by encouraging them here, we can get on average 10% in the costs of berthing. For the numbskulls, that’s a lot of money we would not otherwise have.
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Thicko Micko: “And how environmentally unfriendly are such large motor yachats ?” Not very, given that they are hardly used.
I never really understood the whole luxury motorboat thing – it seems people buy them, place them in ports where they don’t have to pay tax on them, only to lose lots of money in depreciation and berthing fees all the time never ever using the boat! I just don’t get it. Still, if these people want to waste their cash, let them do it here.
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#14
I don,t see why not?
They will be using jerseys harbour.
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Is this a joke – a year without paying tax is enough of a benefit – 18 months is ridiculous
For persons owning a super yacht I doubt that the 3% GST is a major put off in the first place
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I don’t know where John Shenton got his £1M per annum figure from but it currently costs £280.55 per metre per month to moor up in the Elizabeth Marina.
So a 50 metre yacht, which is a giant boat, will cost its owner £168,330 per annum in mooring fees and the owner would have to spend another £831,670 on maintenance, fuel etc to reach his £1M figure.
Does this sound likely?
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Thank god one person has the brains to understand that this only concerns NON RESIDENTS.
Does everybody think that yachts of this size pay import tax to every country they visit on a temporary basis?
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Tickled Pink is a mere tiddler of the super yacht world at 37m being dwarfed by serious boats like Paul Allen’s Octopus at 126m or Roman Abramovitch’s Eclipse at 171m!
It is currently up for sale at a tad under £10M.
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@ bella #11
“…If they are not to pay Gst on their 10 million yachts they must be up with the elite and privilidged…”
Simply not true. I could accept that by being able to afford a £10million they could be classed by some as ‘elite’ and or ‘privileged’, but by benefiting from a law that is applicable to anybody in a similar situation regardless of net wealth or worth of their vessel is not to be elite or privileged.
While I do wonder why those in power feel the need to introduce these measures at this time, when it’s obvious they’ll get a back-lash of misunderstanding, I don’t think there’s anything actually unfair in inappropriate in what they’re proposing: The cynic in me wonders whether they do it to bring on the misplaced outrage, which they can then justifiably argue against, and the when the same people argue more accurately later over another issue they’re seen as undermined from having previously been proven to not fully understand the issues.
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Bella: “I don’t see why not? They will be using jerseys harbour”.
That’s what they pay berthing fees for. They don’t live in Jersey, the crews don’t stay in Jersey. They don’t make use of Jersey’s health care, roads, social security etc. Only the boat is here, not costing us a penny, in fact making us money in the berthing fees. Objecting to this proposal is effectively objecting to encouraging people to spend their money in Jersey. In other words, daft.
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Who says Jersey dosent favour the “rich” with its “eliteist” attitudes.
19,000 voted against G.S.T,and were ignored.
The corrupt dictatorship that is Jersey rules once more and in the light that the exemption is to come into practice with immediate effect, i think it should be seen for the trash tax that it is,and be removed for everyone,bearing in mind the redundancies and those with true hardship.
Equality is surely part of a democracy and the average jo shouldnt be hit again to subsidise the rich!
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OK #13 – my spelling is poor.
But you get my point and regarding the reintroduction of Road Tax, I have actually written to the Senator reminding him of the significant hike in fuel duty over the years – From 12p per litre to 41p since the little old round disk was abolished. (I remember my Renault 25 cost £22.50 per year and the wife’s Clio was £15 !!!)
I think it is fair to assume that the Working Man will be bending over, again and again !
Do try and get a copy of the Mail on Sunday article – Well worth a read !
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This is a positive step forward. Jersey is a maritime island sea-sporting of any kind should be encouraged.
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I am disgusted by the lack to vision and fore thought that many of the contributors on this thread seemingly have and I am very pleased that you do not run the government. The superyacht industry has been a massively growing business sector for many years and surprise surprise Jersey is behind the times and seemingly so are the residents. As a few people here have pointed out the yachts bring revenue with them and any growth achievable in these difficult times should be welcomed with open arms.
I would like to set a few points right also… although the fuel is tax free it is not FREE and there are still profits made on that fuel which are then duly taxed from the company and even the relatively small Tickled Pink will fill it’s tanks with 33,000l of fuel during her stay, the owners have also sourced suppliers for fresh local produce, laundry services, chandlery and other locally based facilities needed to maintain the yacht, her five crew and her guests. These services are not only fully liable to GST but also line the pockets of the local shops which I believe the idea is then go and employ people incredibly.
I suspect that the greatest barrier to peoples understanding of why this industry is important to Jersey is the fact that the contributions are so diverse they are not understood, let alone appreciated. Monaco (obviously well versed in superyacht dealings) estimates that the supply industry just for their marina is worth £1billion each year.
Once you attract a business like this it opens up possibilities for further expansion, something that once again would employ grateful locals and again benefit the economy such as manufacture of specialist parts, distribution, retail & brokerage, boatyard services, charters (that’s when people actually travel to Jersey to hire the yachts), sea schools… honestly the list goes on.
Most cities are falling over themselves to attract the likes of these yachts and their owners, but I suppose they have all got it wrong also…
Before knocking down an idea, open you eyes and see the bigger picture. Owners of these yachts can go elsewhere, this is one of the things yachts do well and will do unless there is some sort of attraction locally. You all need to swallow the GST pill and accept that there is a bigger pot at the end of the rainbow.
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5 & 14: does this mean tourists should be exempt from paying gst too? collectively they contribute quite alot of money which would not otherwise be here either
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lamborrari: what about tourists? (the ones without great big boats)
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I once heard a boat described as a hole in the water surrounded by plastic, into which fools throw copious amounts of money.
Its not green, its a luxury, and its not me, lets tax it.
Great idea.
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One major stumbling block. Jersey’s marina is well below par. Will many want to come here when the marina isn’t up to scratch? You can’t even use it at all states of the tide.
Also Jersey isn’t renown for its night life is it? No casinos etc.
I have to laugh at the proposed spends for these boats. I would image the bare minimum will be spent over here, as the rich don’t throw money around.
I am surprised the states haven’t just waved their mooring fees as well. GST is there for making up short falls isn’t it?
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Why let facts get in the way of a good argument!
From the yacht brokerage website, Tickled Pink’s tanks hold a maximum load of 22,000l in her current configuration. She has been used solely by the owner, there have been no charters.
She has been for a few runs over to St Malo during her stay, not exactly a big stretch for a boat with a range of over 1000 nautical miles on a full tank!
By the way she is owned by a London financier, not a Russian oligarch.
Monaco has a ginormous marina and is plugged in to the high rolling tourism along the French Mediterranean coast.
Jersey is not Monaco and never can be, just like it can never be a second Hong Kong!
The States would be a lot better off if they spent their time trying to play to Jersey’s strengths instead of trying to emulate places that are nothing like us.
As Peter Body says elsewhere in the paper we could learn from the IoM.
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28. Maybe the ones without great boats can console themselves with paying GST instead? It is down to someone to make the sacrifice isn’t it?
GMR from what I can see the pot at the end of the rainbow isn’t for those who pay GST, as it appears to be reserved for the more “important” people.
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#27/28 – tourists are generally exempt dufus. Just like we can claim back VAT if we buy something in the UK and bring it back to Jersey with us. Of course, policing this system is far too expensive and in practice we pay sales taxes abroad and tourists pay GST here.
In any event, you’re missing the point. There is no individual here. Its just a boat that we can make lots of lurvely money from at no cost to us.
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#23 Life en”poor”ing!: ‘…the average jo shouldnt be hit again to subsidise the rich’
How are Jersey’s average joes subsidising non-resident yacht owners?
#27 havesandhaveyachts: ‘does this mean tourists should be exempt from paying gst too?’
No one is exempt from paying GST on local goods and services if they are in Jersey. This exemption applies only to the yacht itself.
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It should be said that Monaco has casinos plus nightclubs like Jimmy’z with its own helipad so that its super rich patrons can chopper in direct from their yachts moored offshore.
Just down the coast is Nice, Cannes and St Tropez.
Jersey has no casinos, no international nightclubs and we are next to Guernsey, St Malo and Dinard.
Says it all really!
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Where do these people get their information from. There is no way £1,000,000 from this boat will be spent locally. For a start boats this size need dry docks. My mate with a boat takes his to France to be painted and serviced as it is half the price. Listening to the Harbour Master on the news just now about the marina being reconfigured to allow for these boats is utter nonsense. Tickled Pink had to be moved because of strong winds all the time. There is also no room to maneouvre in the limited space without holding up all the locals in their small craft. Plus who wants their superyacht next to a noisy skatepark. (Nice decision Dep Fox).
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@haves&thehaveyachts #27/8
“…5 & 14: does this mean tourists should be exempt from paying gst too? …”
Yes, it should mean that tourists will be exempt from paying GST on their berthed yachts of any size; at least that’s my understanding. Tourists, including those with large yachts will continue to be charged GST during their stay in the island as they are now, where GST is charged(restaurants/shops etc.)
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31. Indeed, let’s not let facts get in the way.
My comments referencing Monaco is a testimonial to the scale of revenue that a port of those likes is capable of, I should also point out that I fully support the building of new facilities as in the long run it is worth it.
No Jersey is never going to be a Monaco nor a Hong Kong however it has got better surroundings than “Salterns” which as a fact IS the most expensive and exclusive UK marina with exceeding waiting lists and is situated in… Lilliput, Poole! I’ve been there and you will have to trust me it’s a good old taxi ride to find ‘entertainment’ in the area. In fact even their own website cites Tesco Express and a fish and chip shop as the local amenities.
Tickled Pink may not have been on many excursions but again, it is not the running of the vessel that makes the island money. I will also point out that that a ‘few runs’ to St Malo would have used hundreds of litres of fuel and that I have seen it being used on most summer evenings, maybe not via a charter company but it seems that the ‘London financier’ is a generous host allowing friends and family to use the boat.
One of Jersey’s major strengths is it’s situation midway between north and south Europe, oh and there is always the sea. If the sea that surrounds us is a weakness of the island I’d hate to see what you consider a strength!
Finally, ignoring the again cries of GST robbery. The Isle of Man! On this point I couldn’t agree with you more, not only do the IOM offer superyacht owners FREE surveys every two and a half years as part of a fantastic package but in September this year the IOM held it’s first superyacht and aircraft conference, showcasing the benefits of the IOM as a leader in superyacht registration and management supporting it’s local businesses that specialise in supporting this type of vessel. They are quoted as saying
“The conference will bring together intermediaries, lawyers, brokers, insurers and builders in the ship and aircraft sector to discuss the outlook for the industry in the current economic climate, as well as the challenges and opportunities for businesses operating in this sector. It will give those attending the opportunity to not only hear of the benefits of the Isle of Man, but also to meet with leading government figures and those in the private sector who have made the Island a market leader.”
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I am perplexed that there is so much criticism for the potential berthing of large yachts. This should be viewed as a positive initiative, providing a degree of diversification within the local economy, that potentially provides local employment along with profits.
There seems to be a group of hardened contributors to these posts who are ‘anti-wealth’, and yet seem to forget that much of Jersey’s good fortune has been derived through managing to ensure that a small percentage of individual and corporate assets and wealth are extracted and retained within the island, providing many, many people with employment, and ensuring that ALL islanders benefit, as a result of the direct and indirect tax that the States of Jersey receives.
Before continuing with this ‘bash the money’ campaign, remember that most assets and money are mobile. There is a marina in Vilanaova y Geltru, just south of Barcelona, that has recently opened, very keen to attract the large yachts, such as Ticled Pink.
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I think it fair to point out that Salterns marina at Lilliput, Poole is adjacent to Sandbanks which has the fourth highest land value in the world at almost £10,000 per square metre. That makes the area covered by my loo worth £15,000 if it was sitting on Sandbanks!
There are certain things I admire about the IoM and other things I do not.
I am not against the mooring of super yachts in Jersey.
I am questioning the pursuit of something that I think is a mere will of the wisp that will not produce the revenue expected and vanish leaving a financial hole behind it.
The history of post war Jersey is littered with schemes that either never came to fruition or have made huge losses.
Fort Regent, a money pit if there ever was one, and now Aquasplash, a private venture but the recipient of States’ subsidy on a huge scale and as GMR said in one of his earlier post… honestly the list goes on!
At every election the call goes up to elect businessmen to the States to look after the interests of Jersey Ltd but any nous they may bring to their own affairs seems to vanish when they enter that chamber of smoke and mirrors!
One thing you can guarantee, if we rejig the marina at the cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds and the super yachts do not turn up no one will be at fault, see the failure to hedge the cost of the incinerator!
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Keyser Söze, I’m not sure I would call them anti-capitalist statements on this link and don’t think many Morning Star readers in Jersey! I think that people are more clued up to the questionable provenance of the wealth of a lot of the overseas clients that Jersey trust and administration outfits are happy to court/chase. Just a few days after that presentation that we should be looking for business from Russia’s wealthy, PwC came out with a report saying Russia is one of the most corrupt countries in the world and level with Zimbabwe in terms of the level of corruption and lack of transparency. And this is after that lawyer for Hermitage (the US hedge fund) died in custody because he refused to give up the case regarding the theft of his US investment company’s assets by Moscow government authorities.
I think people don’t have any issues with millionaires who’ve created jobs out of operations which aren’t involved with smoke and mirrors structured finance or huge amounts of leverage on,say, commercial property or private equity. But a lot of these profits that Jersey “trust professionals” are courting simply aren’t profits in reality and just related to fictional fair values at a point in time. Lots of Jsy people work in the Finance industry so are quite savvy about these illusory profits.
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Pip, I take your comments. But surely we could tempt the uber rich to partake of our wonderful Methodist culture on their weekend trips rather than the casinos of Sardinia?! What is being able to buy an original Faberge egg at the med jewellers compared to getting a Pot Noodle at you local late night Checkers in St Helier? No contest surely!
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I am sure no one is anti wealth per se, as long as it appears there is some financial gain to the island. The problem with many of the schemes the States hatch up, is not the idea, but the way it is released to the public and media.
This is a typical example. The facts are not facts, only a projected ‘guess’ based on other marinas, probably a lot further south and better weather than here. Somewhere the owner might actually like to be, in the sun. Also as mentioned in other posts St Helier harbour is hardly Monaco. I cant see the Aga Khan sipping his tea on deck looking at the Radishion. As good as St Helier is, it really doesn’t have the venues for the mega elite, sadly!
So if this does come to fruition, I’m sure a few yachts will park up, and thats about it. Basic crew, if any, top up with cheap fuel and off to the Med for the summer season. St Helier will become an exclusive floating parking lott at the expense of the Tax Payer. We do not have anything here for the mega rich grotty yachties!
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I would say this is another pie in the sky idea and it will soon run its course like many of the other bright ideas that come from these quarters.
When you are dealing with people who are staid in their ways and can’t think outside the box what do you expect?
Anyone spotted the deliberate mistake with the marina yet? If you haven’t try getting into and out of the marina at low tide in a boat.
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I am all for attracting Super Yachts to the island, as many have already said the revenue lost from the GST would be far outweighed by the financial gains of attracting wealthy individuals to the island.
The problem that I see at the moment is the fact that I could not imagine a 90 meter Super Yacht, fitting in our humble marinas, but by allowing “smaller” super yachts in GST free this would potentially allow much needed development of our marinas that would hopefully in the future allow cruise ships to berth in the island, which would further benefit the islands economy.
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37. sorry maybe i have misundertood. i am assuming the the GST is levied on the cost of parking one’s luxury yacht in St Helier marina. In which case, why are tourists exempt from paying GST when they park their yacht but not when they park their car? the arguments coming from here seem to be based on “because they are rich and we don’t want them to go away”…
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If anyone needed a clear indication of exactly who is wanted in this Island of ours then this is it! And yes … it aint you and me!
Yet again the rich are exempt from paying taxes while the rest of us have to make up the short-fall.
I wonder if i can be exempt if i get a mooring for my dinghy in the required super-marinas (where will they be, eh?) and then go to the Ecrehous for a couple of weeks each year?? Doubt it!
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@haves&haveyachts #46
“…“because they are rich and we don’t want them to go away”…”
Well you’re hearing different arguments to me. It doesn’t seem to be that they’re rich; only that they’re spending money into the local economy without costing anything from the local economy that would require funding from taxes.
As far as the comparing the situation to parking; GST is a system that was introduced as as simple to administer a system as possible, to try to differentiate between resident and non-residents for car parking would go against this; this is not the case for visiting yachts.
As I said before, I do wonder why this proposal has been made; could it be that there has been enquiries from yacht owners that have made it evident to Harbours that there is a market for local services providers to tap into if these changes were made? if so, do you not think it’s actually a good idea to help support that market? if not, why not?
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48: only that they’re spending money into the local economy without costing anything from the local economy that would require funding from taxes.
Exactly the same argument goes for tourism, surely?
could it be that there has been enquiries from yacht owners that have made it evident to Harbours that there is a market for local services providers to tap into if these changes were made?
Ditto? (In fact this goes for just about ANYTHING so I’m pretty sure the GST department must be sick of hearing that old chestnut!)
I agree that we should encourage tourism in whatever form – a very simple way to do so would be to scrap GST on tourist accommodation. Instead, one by one hotels are going out of business and yet an allowance is made for expensive yachts? Why is this?
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#47 Green Bean: ‘Yet again the rich are exempt from paying taxes while the rest of us have to make up the short-fall.’
Perhaps you can give us some examples of the taxes the rich are exempt from? Also, how is the current scheme creating a shortfall?
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haves&thehaveyachts: “sorry maybe i have misundertood. i am assuming that GST is levied on the cost of parking one’s luxury yacht in St Helier marina.”
You have misunderstood. We are talking about GST on the price of the boat, not the cost of parking it.
e.g. you import a car to Jersey you pay GST on it. Basically, the proposal is that we do not treat the boat as ‘imported’ for GST purposes unless it stays for more than 18 months.
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@ haves&thehaveyachts #49
“…Exactly the same argument goes for tourism, surely?…”
A tourist in Jersey does use the road, does need to be policed, does create refuse etc. etc.; A yacht berth in the marina has these costs covered by the berthing charges. An argument could, I guess, be made that all yachts could be exempt by the same measure, but I think this could bring about higher charges all round, rather than just reducing the cost to local owners, and what would the point of that be?
“…In fact this goes for just about ANYTHING…”
I don’t agree, what other service would you suggest would encourage income to the island economy, which currently has GST charged and would benefit from being waived for non-residents in the same way that yacht berthing is?
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My opinion is that this is just a little window dressing that will not materially change the number of non resident owners’ yachts berthed here.
Like the Jersey 2020 IT plan that was produced at a cost of over a £100,000 it will turn out to be a load of hoopla.
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It’s clear that some of the respondnets have got the wrong end of the stick on this one, but the point is that motor yachting at 30 to 40 gallons of diesel an hour, on fuel that is TAX FREE is for the very wealthy, yet as a resident, and a motorist, I am told that my motor vehicle which uses say ONE gallon of TAX PAID fuel an hour is causing enormous environmental damage, and that I must pay heavily for the privaledge.
If the environmental department are so b***** concerned about car exhaust emmisions, then at least tax marine fuel at a similar rate, on ‘environmental grounds’
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Sir
Once again our leaders have distinguished themselves. This is just the kind of creative, far-sighted policy making we have come to expect from them during these difficult times.
Indeed, if they wish to further help hard pressed local shopkeepers one would hope that they take this splendid initiative to its logical conclusion and abolish GST on other luxury items such as diamond necklaces, high end motor vehicles and fur coats, with any shortfall in tax revenues being offset by an increase in rates levied on more mundane items such as food, clothing and fuel.
Proud Jerseyman
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#47 Green Bean: “If anyone needed a clear indication of exactly who is wanted in this Island of ours then this is it.”
You are clearly missing the point. This is an exemption for non-residents – i.e. people that do not live in Jersey.
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51. that should really have been made clearer! i wouldn’t expect gst to be charged on the full price of a boat that was only visiting..
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Two Points:-
1. Locals have to wait 2-8 years for a mooring space in Jersey. Can a ’super’ yacht just sail straight in? Correct me if I’m wrong, but does the new contracts for mooring holders not state that the individual MUST be resident in Jersey?
2. We were told that there would no exceptions at all on GST. Not medication, not food, not children’s clothing or education material. But here we have an exception for super wealthy peoples play things?
Is it April the 1st already?
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Well God damm it! Duty free fuel!? I’ll get on to the rest of the team at NASA, we will relocate Cape Canavaral to Jersey, erect a few Saturn 5’s and have another shot at the Moon!
Will bring lots of work for all those ‘Rocket Scientists’ or States Members.
Its a win win situation guys!
Eer, may have to modify the rockets to burn on marine diesel, so will be in touch soon. . .
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#54 Proud Jerseyman
Introducing lots of items that are exempt from GST would actually hinder local businesses. Imagine, for each item sold, a local shopkeeper having to decide whether it is standard rated at 3 per cent or exempt. This would increase costs dramatically, partly through the amount of time the shopkeeper spends pricing his stock and partly due to the new tills, etc that would be needed in many cases to the run the business effectively.
#57 Bertie
Firstly, there are several exemptions for GST, eg rents, funeral services, etc. Also, prescription drugs are now completely free of charge so GST doesn’t affect this.
Secondly, the yachts are not an exception. They are just not chargable to GST till they have been in Jersey for 18 months.
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#53 Warren J: it seems to me that its you who’s missed the point. What are you talking about? Marine fuel is NOT duty free for anyone – even the ‘very wealthy’ as you put it. Its just taxed at a lesser rate than road fuel for a very good reason: our road fuel includes our road tax which pays for ‘upkeep’ (cough!) of the roads. I don’t see many boats driving up and down the avenue in rush hour – do you?
In any event, this proposal has absolutely nothing to do with duty on fuel, services or other goods bought by the owner of the boat whilst in Jersey. It is only to do with GST on the cost of the boat itself. It should be clear to anyone with half a brain that this is a very good idea.
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Top priority by the states, Pander to the rich and offer them cheap deals while the rest of the Jersey public try to absorb ressesion with Taxes,
Its the same as the tax ideas trying to be passed through by Senator Le Main regarding engine sizes! don’t we also pay a tax when you buy a new car called VRD, based on engine size, and the tax we pay on fuel.
What is happening is we are being hit with more and more stealt taxes to pay for the mess the finance industry and the States have caused, also to drop taxes for the super rich.
The States need to get a grip, look at themselves and there spending policies before penalising us for something I really dont think we will benefit from.
If I owned a super yacht I would go somewhere nicer, like Monaco, Hell if you can afford a yacht you can afford the taxes!
The States are elected in to represent us the Jersey public, not tax exiles looking for a three or six month window so they dodge the European taxes and the UK taxes.
What Jersey needs is a good Revolution!!
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OK #61 – Marine Fuel may be taxed to some extent but the rates of duty do not appear on C&E’s website !
And yes, I do take your point that not much of the tax collected from motorists is spent on the roads.
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I’m not sure and stand to be corrected,but i think the GST that is being exempted is on the value of the boat and not the services provided to it or the crew.It would be like taking your car to the mainland being charged VAT on the value of the car even though you would be bringing it back to Jersey.
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Michael Neal
I am confident the local Rolls Royce and Rolex dealers would welcome the extra ‘burdens’ you describe, with any increased overheads being more than offset by the extra revenue my proposal would bring in.
However it does cause one great distress that so many correspondents appear to be motived by class hatred and the politics of envy. As many of them are probably unemployed – through no fault of their own I am sure – surely they must realise that the presence of many extra super rich visitors opens up the opportunity to re-enter the labour market as servants and shoe shiners.
Perhaps this thought was uppermost in the minds of our statesmen when they drafted this policy.
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GMR has some valid interesting points well put . I agree that Jersey must diversify to attract business.
However some facts are missing from the pro and anti posters. The Super yachts cost, when purchased be GST free for ever as all they have to do is stay outside of Jersey within eighteen months for a period of no less than 14 days and the clock starts again. So it’s a clever plan to attract a yacht that spends a few months here and there and then comes home to Jersey.
The problem is that many Jersey politicians are hypocrites and the islanders (residents) are getting sick of it, including myself.
So Jersey is about to go into the red, and as you correctly say we must look for new income streams.
What you may not know is that the total tax take for the 1.1k wealthy imported residents should be around £13.5 million but is actually a tad above £8 million.
What you may not know is the States have increased their staff by 19 new people this year on last.
Suggested stealth taxes, from Terry Le Main and other politicians are flowing out of the Council of Ministers group, like there is no tomorrow.
Roll on Roll off a familiar harbour expression, it will be for many of the well-heeled politicians offering these ideas without cutting back on States Expenditure especially
the army of civil servants.
This plan is just fuelling the fire of discontent.
Davey West.
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Well, this seems like a very simple an good policy that costs us nothing to implement but may bring increased spending into the Island and thus reduce the tax bills that ordinary people like me have to pay.
I want GST to stay at 3%. It is interesting how those that oppose GST are also invariably those who encourage increased public spending and criticise anything aimed at increasing revenues.
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#62 james e: ‘don’t we also pay a tax when you buy a new car called VRD, based on engine size,’
VRD was abolished when GST was introduced.
#65 Proud Jerseyman
Since Rolexes and Rolls Royces are unlikely to be exempt supplies, there would be no increase in revenue.
Rather than these type of businesses, which only sell one type of product, I was thinking more the owner of a corner shop. Imagine having to go through your stock and mark some but not all of it up by 3 per cent.
#66 davey west: ‘What you may not know is that the total tax take for the 1.1k wealthy imported residents should be around £13.5 million but is actually a tad above £8 million.’
Really? I’d be interested to know more.
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Incidentally, my previous job in the UK brought me into regular contact with tax experts for more than three days.
I am able to say with complete confidence that {wait for it- roll of drums} introducing lots of items that are exempt from GST would actually hinder local businesses.
There. I said it. Let the gin palaces come and hooray to all!
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so from a diverse choice of locations all around the world to take my super yacht from the Caribean to Australia or Asia and even Europe think i might go to Jersey as it has a banged up old harbour and my boat probably won’t fit also i don’t have to pay gst on berthing for 18 months, now thats an incentive! get real Jersey your a dot on the globe try and remember that, if Jersey disapeared I am sure the world will continue to rotate !
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They will just come in and go out again!
Incidentally, my previous job in the UK brought me into regular contact with maritime experts for more than three days.
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#70 Beanybaby, that made me giggle. If the Caribbean, Australia, Asia and even Europe disappeared the world WOULD continue to rotate
Or do the rest of the world really believe that they, as individuals, are so important in the grand scheme of the Universe. The Universe doesn’t care about humans, only the human species do!
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Terry Le Main wants to effectively re-introduce annual Road Tax to raise money for environmental projects!
What a load of BULL as goes for global warming!
and now this yachts bull, just more perks for the super rich!
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There seems to be a lot of mis-information in the above comments. What this scheme means is that people with boats (of any size) can now visit the island without having to pay GST on their boat when they get here.
This is exactly the same scheme that allows us island residents to visit the UK / Europe with our boats and not pay VAT as soon as we get there.
It would seem to be pretty fair to me. The alternative is to charge GST when they arrive on the value of their boat, which would mean Jersey Harbours / Marinas are effectively closed for visiting yachtsmen. No one would pay GST just so they can visit this Island!
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I think that the real issue is discontent by the people of Jersey in their government.Charity begins at home and the current lack of respect by the Council Of Ministers for the people of Jersey is appalling.
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JB Posted No one would pay GST just so they can visit this Island!
Well spotted I wonder when the CoM will realise this and do away with such a dreadful tax? Or is it just a case of the CoM knowing they have a captive audience who can’t avoid it even though they hate paying it?
This is another pie in the sky scheme that will amount to very little. The reasons why?
1. The island is too expensive now.
2. The marina is not a marina but a poor excuse for a boat park.
3. It is too small to take the bigger boats, the ones with the real money.
4. Jersey isn’t what it once was, a quite friendly and endearing place.
5. St.Helier is an eye sore.
6. The weather isn’t as good as other places.
7. There are very few tourist attractions now as they have all but shut down due to the lack of foresight from the states to keep it going.
8. Jersey is looking distinctly tatty now like a English sea side town from the 1980’s.
9. Jersey’s uniqueness has been erroded by too much change for the worse.
10. The new neighbours in the cheap and cheerful looking flats (as far as I am concerned) nearby don’t like noise. It wouldn’t surprise me if they get it shut down under the nuisance laws.
I don’t know about others but when I go away I want to see and experience the local culture of wherever I am visiting. I do not want to see a cardboard replica of an English county with the same sort of people.
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