Policy and Resources Committee asked to provide tax backlog data

Guernsey’s principal political body, the Policy and Resources Committee (P&R), has received a request for data concerning tax backlogs extending to 2017. Deputy Mark Helyar initiated this request, seeking an estimation of the total taxes owed and the quantity of tax returns that are still awaiting processing. Deputy Helyar stated that addressing the outstanding tax returns, particularly as the government prepares to implement a goods and services tax (GST) starting in 2027, could potentially generate an estimated £300m. These inquiries, submitted through the Rule 14 procedure, mandate that P&R furnish a response within 14 days. Helyar remarked, “If you are running a business and you’ve got a lot of people that owe you money and you’re a bit strapped for cash, one of the first things you do is ask people to pay you.” He further noted, “We know the ETI, which is what an employer automatically pays on behalf of an employee, accounts for about 70% of tax.” He then posed the question, “The other 30%, how much of that is getting collected and how quickly?” Helyar, who previously served as the treasury lead for the States, commented that the funds “would be extremely helpful” and emphasized that “we need to be collecting it.” The government acknowledged that the tax return backlog “has been around for many years and was exacerbated by the changes to normal working life caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.” It further indicated that several modifications had been implemented to mitigate the backlog, such as “encouraging more people to file online, holding drop-in sessions, and amending the paper tax form so that it can be processed more efficiently.” Helyar asserted that the States has accumulated years of outstanding backlog and that the revenue service “isn’t catching up.” He questioned, “What is P&R doing about holding that particular part of the civil service to account for performing properly?” Adding, “We have an expectation it will be done quickly and it simply isn’t.” He also mentioned that public apprehension has emerged regarding the government’s capacity to collect its proposed GST. Helyar conveyed, “People are asking the question, if we can’t collect what we are supposed to be paying at the moment, how are we going to organise a new system?” He described this as “a perfectly legitimate question and I think it’s one which P&R should answer.” He urged, “We need to catch up and we need to do something much more radical.” Helyar suggested, “Really I think we should be outsourcing this and we should have other people inputting the data.” The complete list of Helyar’s questions will be published on the States’ Rule 14 website.