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Parish Rates: payment by the States of Jersey.

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STATES OF JERSEY

PARISH RATES: PAYMENT BY THE STATES OF JERSEY

Lodged au Greffe on 21st February 2017 by the Connétable of St. Helier

STATES GREFFE

2017  P.12

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

to request the Minister for Treasury and Resources to consult on and bring forward for debate proposals for the payment of Parish rates by the States in 2018.

CONNÉTABLE OF ST. HELIER

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P.12/2017

REPORT

The States of Jersey has already agreed the principle of the payment of Parish rates on public buildings, and it could be argued that the matter has been sufficiently investigated and consulted upon during the past 2 decades, for the decisions made, for example, in the most recent debates on the States Strategic Plan and the Medium Term Financial Plan to be ratified.

The Minister for Treasury and Resources attempted to achieve this on 14th December 2016  when  he  presented  the  Draft  Finance  (2017  Budget)  (Jersey)  Law 201- (P.113/2016). Article 16 of the Law, providing the mechanism for a revaluation of rateable values and, therefore, the prospect of a financially sustainable approach to the States paying rates, was approved by 22 votes to 17; however, Article 17, which would have allowed for the States' payment of rates to proceed in 2017 was defeated by 20 votes to 17.

The transcript of the debate on P.113/2016 is available on Hansard (14th December 2016).

I do not think it is necessary for this report to examine or judge the various arguments that were given against the proposal, given that the principle has been agreed on 2 separate occasions over the term of the present Council of Ministers. The important thing is that the Minister for Treasury and Resources brings forward a new proposition to permit the payment of Parish rates on public buildings in 2018, having carried out the further consultation which a number of States Members requested during the debate.

Finance and manpower implications

There are no financial or manpower implications for the States arising from the adoption of this proposition.

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P.12/2017