I AM writing in response to the letter from John Henwood (JEP 16 October). I find it encouraging that the debate on the role and nature of our government has been initiated by Mr Henwood and I am broadly supportive of his sentiment and views.
It is self-evident that if the government seeks to remove a significant proportion of the disposable income from the population then the amount of money available to spend is reduced. Our government has systematically increased the effective rate of taxation from around 20% in 1980 to somewhere in the region of 45% today. It is no surprise, therefore, that our economy is faltering.
Increased regulation has hammered much of Jersey’s industry – first making the tourism industry non-viable and lately rendering the finance industry non-competitive as the cost of complying with an ever increasing bureaucratic burden has escalated exponentially. This started in 1998 with the insistence that all corporate entities prepare accounts. Regulation is also making retail a non-starter, except for small businesses with no employees, due to the costs and risks associated with employing someone.
Jersey’s reputation as a tax haven arises solely as a consequence of government policy. Other low tax jurisdictions are not seen as ‘tax havens’ for the simple reason that they never applied differing tax rules to residents and non-residents. Jersey for some reason chose to discriminate against Jersey people and then fought to defend their right to discriminate against us.
At this juncture we should remember that the States of Jersey is a trust. The beneficiaries of that trust are the public of the Island of Jersey but our representatives, whom we elect to represent our interests with the bureaucracy, do not often seem to satisfactorily execute these responsibilities. Too often they set the concerns of the bureaucracy ahead of the concerns of the people.
Our interest is to be left enough money upon which to live. Under the current system too often the government takes so much money that people are forced to beg for their own money back. Our interest is to be left to govern ourselves. We are more capable than any bureaucrat of making decisions affecting our own lives and those of our families.
Government cannot offer any solutions because government is the problem. It is not a ‘taxed enough already’ party that is required but a Liberty for Jersey party – a party which would seek independence, for the people of Jersey, from the States of Jersey and bring an end to the discrimination that Jersey people suffer daily at the hands of their own government.
It is time to abolish our current form of government and replace it with that which seems most likely to us, to ensure our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
