OVER £8 million has been added to the States Treasury from the profits of European Union residents with savings in the Island.

Jersey’s Comptroller of Income Tax collected £35 million in tax last year from individuals who deposit money at Island banks, compared to £29.2 million in 2006. The collection of the withholding or ‘retention’ tax is a requirement of an EU agreement which the Island signed up to in 2006. The money collected represents 15 per cent of the profits on savings.

Jersey’s Income Tax Department is required to send 75 per cent of the total £34.98 million to the tax authorities in the various EU countries where the individual savers are resident. The largest amount is to go to the UK (£16.8 million), with the Spanish and French authorities gaining £1.7 million each in tax. The remainder has been distributed to the other EU member states. The other 25 per cent, which last year amounted to £8.74 million, is kept by the States of Jersey.

According to Treasury and Resources 61,600 people voluntarily disclosed the amount of interest they earned on their deposits. In 2006, over 80,000 people chose voluntary disclosure. Treasury Minister Terry Le Sueur (pictured) commented: ‘This shows that Jersey continues to honour the commitments that it entered into voluntarily in the agreements with member states