The Guernsey Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the Government’s revised approach to the Social Security changes forming part of the GST+ package, following sustained engagement and advocacy on behalf of the island’s business community.
The proposals represent a meaningful response to the concerns Chamber members raised and reflect the value of constructive dialogue between business and government.
The Chamber has been an active participant in the GST+ planning workstream alongside government, working in partnership to ensure that the package is designed in a way that meets the needs of our community and is workable for Guernsey businesses. Throughout this process, Chamber representatives pressed government hard on three key asks: transparency on changes, a more gradual phasing of any increases, and a simplified and fair alignment between the treatment of employed and self-employed individuals.
The Chamber has always recognised that long-term funding pressures on public finances are real and that sustainable solutions are needed. However, businesses also needed certainty, fairness, simplicity and clarity on how the burden would be distributed particularly given that the Social Security changes sit alongside GST, secondary pensions, minimum wage changes and wider tax reform, all landing simultaneously. Chamber members consistently stressed the importance of a fair and capped employer cost, alongside practical implementation that would not create unnecessary payroll complexity or undermine Guernsey’s competitiveness.
Diane de Garis (pictured), Chamber Treasurer and lead on this workstream, said: “We have worked constructively and in good faith with government throughout this process, and it is genuinely pleasing to see that the concerns raised by our members have been heard and acted upon. Businesses were clear: they accept the need for change, but they needed phasing that was manageable, rates that were fair, certainty around the overall employer burden, and a system that treated employed and self-employed workers consistently. The revisions being discussed go a significant way towards delivering exactly that. This is what effective partnership between business and government looks like.”
