Talking Jersey

Nick Le Lievre
I think the limit should remain at £ 400 as it would cost the states more to collect tax on imported items less then that.When you say the private sector companies who do you mean?I shop with a lot of different companies online and I wouldn't expect them to collect Jerseys GST most of them have to be asked to have UK VAT removed in the first place and thats if they deliver to Jersey at a reasonable cost.

Troy, get real.
Yes the consumer does have power, but only with choice. We do not have a choice for cheaper milk or bread. Plenty of people especialy the older generation on pensions have to rely on a fixed weekly spend. If they can afford two litres of milk and a loaf of bread a week and the price is increased they are going to lose out. Consumers are not to blame for multi million pound overspends instigated by the polititians. And, before you cry that we have a choice over who we vote for we do not have any control on their actual efficiancy at doing a job. With the reduction in ITIS exemptions also it will be impossible for me two continue my mortgage. Plenty of people are in the same position. The Island is not being run for the people, it is being run to deter all those but the rich. As an example, why should a wealthy person who can afford a housekeeper get Tax exemption for hiring them. Because it is the policy makers that also have housekeepers. Its not bloody rocket science to realise that the policy makers consider this Island their own personal honey pot.

Master of wisdom.
Unless you are desperate, I would avoid shopping here at all costs.

The price mark up over here is "obscene" they really think that nobody is streetwise and everyones stupid here. Well have i got news for you.

Furniture is marked up 100s of pounds more than the uk.

All electrical goods tv,s white goods clothes etc are much higher than the uk.

There are garages over here that are selling pre-registered cars at brand new prices which i think is illegal!!

I wanted to buy a jeep recently, it was a pre-reg at £13,995. I returned three days later and the same jeep had gone up to £16,000???

Also the shops are putting up food through the roof with the G.S.T sob story as an excuse. £1.75 for a loaf of bread come on!!! If possible i will buy from the uk or France.

This Island is only "life enriching" for le suer walker et all.

Trevor
I really think the debate over the online threshold is something of a sideshow compared to the core issue itself: GST is going to impact on those who can least afford it in a very big way. It is no good us moaning about this regressive tax if we aren't going to do anything about it. People need to use their vote at the coming elections and get those who are so happy to shaft the poor and the middle earner to cosset the wealthy OUT! Go back to the States voting records from the debate in April 2007 and see who really supported this tax, before a few started backpeddling with fears of a public backlash!

Troy
The last few post as I type this are from 'jersey', 'Dude in Wales', 'Sarah', 'Richard Briffa' and the list goes on and on off the bottom of the screen. Reading the comments is hilarious as none of you seem to have any real understanding of the situation as a whole and your comments seem to show how selfish and self centered you are.

Whining that a product can be bought online cheaper than in Town locally is just daft, the two retailers have totally different infrastructures to pay for. That local retailer has a market of 90,000 people to sell to. The online retailer has a market of 60,000,000 in the UK + those 90,000. It doesn't take a genius to understand the basic economic facts that dictate the retailer will not be able to make the same profit as the larger business.

It so easy to blame the 'greedy' retailer or the 'incompetent' government, but the 'blame' lies with the consumers as well. Decide what you want; the cheapest possible consumables OR a prosperous local economy with a good standard of living. If you want a prosperous local community there has to be some input, by way of taxes and profits.

So by all means buy your vacuum cleaners online from a warehouse in Coventry, but be aware it's Coventry that'll be cleaning-up, because YOU destroyed the local economy and community. And don't worry about those retail workers locally, the Jersey Post will need a lot more people to deliver your shopping.

jersey
it is an absolute disgrace brining in gst in the first place.my tax bill has went up and with gst im paying almost the same tax as in the mainland,only difference is rent cost more,food cost more in fact i think everything in jersey cost more.im thinking of moving from this money greedy island.

Dude in Wales
Oh boo hoo hoo. I have been paying VAT on internet purchases for years, I have no sympathy now that tax haven jersey finally has its own tax on goods!

Captain Fantastic
Jersey a tax haven? yes as long as you live outside the Island and place your money here with tax exemptions!

By cry! I will be signing Hedley Le Maistre's nomination paper at the next election Cheerie

Sarah
I think we should stop paying social security if they're getting all this money from GST. Then we might actually be able to afford something when it comes in!

Richard Briffa
I agree with Jersey Bean - getting a bargain in town is virtually impossible and the internet offers us a chance to get price equality with the UK. I just bought a hoover online for £109 which was £189 in the Coop. Which would you choose?

Marty
Im sure i speak for alot of people when I say im gettin pretty sick of all this GST rubbish. The fact of the matter is that Jersey is given plenty of money through income tax to run AN ISLAND.

Its not our fault that we have a government who want to turn our ISLAND into an overdeveloped finance capital, and so spend money that they dont have, hence their 'black hole'.

We've paid income tax to them for years, and just because they've over reached their budget in the last few years, doesnt mean they can come crying to us for more money. They shouldnt have made plans they cant afford, thats it.

As for this GST on internet purchses and indeed on purchases from the UK, Its not exactly hard over here to drive off the boat and not get your car searhed, espeially when customs seems to always be closed, especially if your boats late, so lord knows how their going to charge GST on things we buy whilst were away.

GST wont work, wait and see. Senater, you know where the boat is, go somwhere more suited to your greed and give us our island life back

mac
I don't understand the proposed threshold-does it mean that if a business which is not required to register won't charge GST so their goods will be cheaper ?

Jersey Bean
Why do the states ruin our beautiful island. If shops in town we not so GREEDY most people would not shop online.i have been told of numerious examples of our so called VAT free shopping. so tell me why a camera selling in jersey for £275 to £305 was delivered to the front door by the postman for £238. another example A vac cleaner selling in a local shop for £249 was purchased online for £112.they should increase the limit not lower it.and the added bonus to shopping online is that you dont have to drive for ages fo find a parking space pay to park join the crowds just to pay over the odds,it goes to show the profits the retailers are making.

Peter
There are always cases of some people being able to do things in life that others can't. Access to the internet is one of those things. Why is having internet access and being able to buy goods online (usually cheaper than buying them in Jersey!!) labelled as unfair to those you can't. That's the way of the world I'm afraid.

bob
The sheriff of sherwood strikes again.

kate
My Dad's 70 and he buys lots of his stuff online if the price is right. There are more silver surfers out there than many people realise.

They are all idiots
An example of a poorly thought out system where the money gained by the states gets eaten into by the excesive administration required to run it. Exactly the same with ITIS.

The States are going to foster a huge resentment from the general public as a Big Brother state develops watching peoples every spend.

Have the states considered what will happen when visitors come to the Island and ask for a rebate on their GST goods, just as we do with VAT?

I will always mantain that trying to get more money from the public just to compensate for the states overspending is wrong.

Prior to any ITIS or GST the money the states were getting was more than enough to run an Island efficiently with a little competent thought. Lets start a revolution!