Hi everyone,

I really appreciate you signing the petition (in five days we're at over 1,000 signatures) and please do keep sharing it with your friends and family - adding more signatures can really make a difference to help highlight your concerns to deputies. For example, the recent petition around A&E charges for those suffering with cancer has made the States of Guernsey do a dramatic u-turn! 

There are so many points to highlight why many are against GST. Here are a few of my key takeouts from the proposals and news in the media:

• Some are questioning whether the deficit is being exaggerated - is GST really needed?
• A lot of other revenue options have failed to be explored in detail - is GST the lazy option?
• The modelling appears to be based on 2022 earnings  - if GST is brought in during 2025 it can be easily argued that everyone will be worse off than the graph in the leaflet sent to households (due to continuing high inflation and the cost of living crisis)
• The proposals are too complicated and there are no reassurances - At no point do they say they would keep GST at 5% for x amount of years. Income tax band change could be put back to 20% and social security revised again. They can just increase, Increase, INCREASE during the yearly budget review.
• Local businesses will suffer - it will widen the gap between buying on island vs online. If an online company can already offer a better price, with GST charged it will be at a lesser amount than the local retailer, widening the gap even further
• Mark the 25 January 2023 in your diary - actions speak louder than words and as many people as possible need to protest outside the Royal Court (on the first day of the debate by deputies)

Thanks again for signing the petition, your support is hugely appreciated, Marc