Ministers dismiss calls to remove tax from food

PA Media

Calls to remove a tax on food in Jersey have been dismissed by the government.

Treasury and Resources Minister Deputy Elaine Miller said - in response to a petition which called for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to be scrapped - that removing it would force other costs to rise.

The 1,500-signature petition said the axing of GST on food - currently set at 5% for the majority of goods and services in Jersey - would help ease the cost of living for islanders.

Miller said the government believed the best way to help lower-income households manage the cost of living was through direct support such as income support and personal tax allowances.

"Jersey's low rate of GST on all goods and services, combined with generous personal income tax allowance and income-related benefits, keeps money in Islanders' pockets and leaves spending choices to them," Miller added.

"To balance the books and so maintain public services, lowering the GST rate on foodstuffs could mean raising the rate on other goods and services.

"Analysis undertaken by [the] Treasury indicates that the GST rate on non-food goods and on services would need to be raised by roughly one percentage point (to 6%) to recover the revenue lost from removing GST on food."

In July, Statistics Jersey said the cost of food on the island had risen by 4.1% during the 12 months up to June 2025.