THIS week heralded the latest round in the business community versus the public of the Island tax battle.

The new strategy document, we are told, has been issued because of a crippling gap that could now arise because our existing zero-ten corporate tax scheme does not satisfy the spirit of the European Union’s Code of Conduct on business taxation.

Our ministerial masters had thought that they had that one done and dusted, but given that it will not be discussed by the EU until September at the earliest, they are left pondering the unpalatable alternatives – and say they would like us to express preferences through the usual consultation channels.

Niftily, and in order to try to persuade us (erroneously) that business tax and personal tax are two different things, the documents are split.

The consultation paper for individual taxpayers suggests that three measures are to be taken: control of public spending, economic growth, and the all-important one, raising taxes.

We know of course about public spending. They are trying. We know much less about economic growth, which seems to have been put on the back burner of late.

As for raising taxes, this section is further divided into four options: pay more GST; pay more in Social Security; pay higher rates; and pay more individual income tax.

As the week has progressed, it looks as if Social Security increases are a cert. My guess is that higher property rates might follow – although heaven preserve us if anything like the UK council tax should be proposed.

Moving swiftly on to the second document, businesses are being asked to comment on five options. These, no doubt, have been helpfully provided by some of our brighter tax specialists who will have been hard at work, behind the scenes and in their spare time, feeding through lots of useful information via the Chief Minister’s Office.

Whatever the final choice, the aim must be to bring more finance business to Jersey and keep ahead of competitors like Guernsey (who have plumped for a ten per cent flat tax), as well as keeping the system relatively simple to administer.

The decision makers will probably be taking more than a cursory glance at the ‘territorial’ system, which is in operation in Hong Kong and Singapore – and has already had the thumbs-up from the UK.

There is also the option of abolishing corporate tax altogether. What public wrath that might incur is anyone’s guess. One thing’s for sure: the Very Hungry Finance Industry will be doing its damndest to make sure that we, and not it, end up with a larger slab of the tax balancing act.

And our ministerial respresentatives will be singing right along with the same hymn sheet.