A BUSINESS group is warning that even a small change in government forecasts would upset the Island’s economy.

The Jersey Chamber of Commerce says that although last week’s States Budget appeared ‘measured’, there is little room for manoevre. They claim that even even a two per cent increase in States spending would cause a £50 million deficit, as would a two per cent decrease in income. This would be compounded as Island businesses move to zero corporate tax in January.

Chamber president Clive Spears said that during a Budget presentation to businesses last week the biggest concern was the quality of income and expenditure projections. ‘Zero-ten apart, we are still expecting a two per cent growth in tax revenues each year and to control expenditure by around three per cent per annum. In order to achieve this we will have to avoid recession and manage our finances in a tougher manner than we have seen for several years.

‘We always warned that there was a considerable change that a downturn in the economic cycle would coincide with zero-ten and that is exactly what is now happening. We warned against excessive spending with such a cyclical outlook but were ignored again this year – amendment after amendment for extra cash came in with a total disregard for the security of our finances.’

Pictured: Clive Spears