Guernsey Approves 2011 Budget

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

14 December 2010

The Guernsey 2011 budget was passed almost wholesale by the States of Guernsey on December 9, including tax increases to tobacco, petrol, alcohol and on real estate.

The confirmed 2011 Budget will contain:

• A 4.6% increase in the rate of duty on tobacco – 14p on a pack of 20 cigarettes;
• A 3.5% increase in the rate of duty on alcohol – 1p on a pint of beer, 5p on a bottle of wine and 34p on a litre of spirits;
• An increase on fuel duty by 10.8% - 4p per litre of petrol / diesel;

The only significant change to the budget was a lesser 3.5% increase to the real property tax rate on domestic property, in line with hikes to commercial property and land. The rate on domestic property was originally proposed to be increased by 20%.

Commenting on the forthcoming Budget, in a report by the UK national broadcaster, the BBC, the territory’s Treasury and Resources Minister, Charles Parkinson said:

"I've made no secret of the fact that this is a conservative budget, indeed I'm happy to describe it as dull. I'm able to present a budget today which does not contain proposals for any new taxes... a testimony to the resilience of the Guernsey economy over the last two years."

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