Guernsey budget 2024 proposes tax on empty homes

New taxes on unoccupied properties and derelict glasshouses have been suggested in Guernsey’s 2024 Budget.

Proposals include increasing the duty on alcohol – up by 5.9% for a pint of beer – and on fuel by 3.9%.

The Policy and Resource Committee’s (P&R) proposals include a £4m increase in the budget for Health and Social Care (HSC).

Education, Sport and Culture and Employment and Social Security have both not identified savings in line with that target.

After announcing its intention to look at incentives to encourage building on unoccupied sites last year, P&R has returned with proposals to impose property tax at five times the standard rate on unoccupied domestic and commercial buildings, derelict glasshouse sites and developments where the work has been ongoing for more than three years.

The committee has also proposed a 7% rise in income tax allowances, up by £875 to £13,900.

Whilst for the second year running the phased removal of mortgage interest relief has been frozen.

Property taxes for people who own commercial car parks could rise by 40% over the next two years, while Tax on Real Property could be scaled so those with larger houses would pay more tax.

Debate on the 2024 budget has been scheduled for 7 November.

As has been a theme in this assembly, budgets have not been for widespread changes but more tinkering around the edges.

Changes like taxing unoccupied properties and derelict glasshouses will be welcomed by some politicians, after calls for these measures in recent years.

But across the board, the more wholesale financial reforms which P&R argues Guernsey needs to put it on a more sustainable footing for the long term are set to be discussed from 17 October, during debate on the funding and investment plan.

For now, P&R said it can only tweak “sin taxes” on things like the price of a pint, petrol and a pack of cigarettes and reform property taxes.

Whether that will be enough to appease deputies, from my initial conversations, seems unlikely.

Deputy Chief Minister Mark Helyar explained this budget could not tackle the more substantial financial problems Guernsey was facing.

He said the main changes to Guernsey’s tax policies would come during the funding and investment plan next week.

Deputy Helyar said “action must be taken urgently to return to a financially sustainable position”.