Chamber opposed to rise in registration fees
Thursday 26th August 2010, 3:00PM BST.
Chamber president Ray Shead.
JERSEY businesses will be hit with a new ‘stealth tax’ if the States back a move to put up company registration fees.
The Jersey Chamber of Commerce has condemned a proposed 66 per cent hike in the annual cost of registering a company. Not only is the body opposed to increasing the charge by £100 but it also believes the States should not raise fees at a time of economic austerity.
Chamber president Ray Shead said: ‘It is just another way of making money when the private sector is trying to remain competitive.’
• See Thursday’s JEP for full story.
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Mr Shead, you and your corporates are now welcom to our individual taxpayer’s world of stealth tax after stealth tax!
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If a company cannot afford an extra £100.00 a year to submit an Annual Return then it should be dissolved.
This fee is already much cheaper than many competitors elsewhere.
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Jersey States often use the UK as a bench mark if it suits their argument. For example parking in Newcastle is a pound an hour in municipal car parks (also free on Sunday ) so you are getting a bargain in Jersey so we were told.
Using this argument I heard on the radio the other morning that Jersey charges its businesses large and small £150 annually to re register and the UK charges £30 by paper and £15 pounds after you have purchased the soft ware also £15 pounds enabling a person to pay on line if this is easier.
Unbelievable should you want to go on line or by paper, charges in Jersey at the moment are set at £150 pounds. For what exactly ?
This will hurt small business if its increased to a staggering fee of £250 pounds a year. By rights it should be reduced in line with England. Is this States department serving the business communities best interest ? there are thousands of very small companies with small turnover ?
Charges explained.
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/toolsToHelp/ourPrices.shtml#Company
Quote.
The EC Capital Taxes Directive allows company registration costs to be met from fees, but prohibits charges that are effectively taxes. This means that prices cannot lawfully be set above costs for the relevant services.
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/toolsToHelp/costRecoveryPrinciples.shtml
Stop the rip-off.
Davey
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Malcolm, the fee may be cheaper than other offshore jusisdictions, but some of them differentiate between offshore finance companies and local businesses. Many one man businesses which are really struggling operate through companies and the extra £100 really is stealth tax. The annual filing fee for a UK company is £15 (if done online) compared to the proposed new fee in Jersey of £250.
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Turkeys voting for xmas springs to mind here,,,
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I believe that since last year registration has been available online. This will have allowed considerable savings. Data protection is £50 online and this should be the level of the company registration. It must be remembered that 95% of businesses employ less than 10 people. Not every company is a multi million pound finance institution.
This will hit the local companies – the companies that employ you and I and offer the oportunity of employment to our children.
Yes, £100 isn’t a great sum but it is a stealth tax. It isn’t for increased workload (in fact a job should have been saved since going online) it is a tax, pure and simple!
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Davey,
Interesting point about the EC Capital Taxes Directive. I’m sure our Government would not want to be non-compliant in another area (as well as zero-ten) so the annual filing should be set at the amount that it costs to register the company, which I believe is £35 and exclude the balance that is currently transferred to the treasury.
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David in response,
I need to mention that it is the thousands (as mentioned by Cathy posting above ) of important small businesses that already pay a large proportion of their relatively small income into the pot, that will be affected.
The second issue is that the EU and other jurisdictions stop run away over zealous money grabbing politician’s et al, by putting in place checks and balances.
Senator Ozouf needs to be aware that being the architect of the useful Competition Authority which has stopped some monopoly bullying organisations, will backfire on him if he uses the same vehicle to raise taxes using a Government department.I am sure he does not wish to be labled a hypocrite.
Lets have a look at the way the UK addresses the problem of Minister Alan Maclean’s proposal.
Quote.
The Competition Act 1998 prohibits the abuse of a dominant position in a market. CH is dominant in that it is the only source for this type of information, by virtue of its statutory function.
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/toolsToHelp/costRecoveryPrinciples.shtml
As with many people I would accept higher taxes if all States departments had time, motion and efficiency independent checks carried out but a while back, both planning and tourism refused to comply. What does that tell you ?
These proposed charges are immoral, unfair and a clear rip-off. I agree they should be reduced to £35 pounds per annum. This should take place when the person in charge of registrations returns from their three-month sabbatical. This really is just States of Jersey made up legalised theft.
Davey.
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The Chamber Of Commerce are a bunch of self serving sycophants, whose pretence to work in the public interest is quite frankly, an insult. Ray Shead, I and many members of the public do not care what you have to say. I wish the JEP wouldn’t give them the attention they crave.
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