The head of Jersey's Consumer Council has declared it "doesn't feel right" for the island's government to profit from rising fuel and gas prices through taxes while residents face mounting cost-of-living pressures.
Carl Walker of the Jersey Consumer Council (JCC) stated that the government's increasing revenue from Goods and Services Tax (GST) and fuel duty as prices climb is unfair, particularly during an economic crisis. "It's not fair for the government to be profiteering or making money from a cost-of-living crisis," Walker emphasized.
"Without opening the can of worms in terms of removing GST off fuel, there might be levers available to them where they can cap the amount of duty or reduce the amount of duty there."
Disruptions to oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began on February 28 have driven up costs, affecting local businesses, farmers, and households. Walker noted that rising prices impact "everything that we deliver" and "everything that we consume," with electricity, water, and gas all increasing in price over the past three months.
He expressed particular concern for middle-class islanders who earn just enough to disqualify them from government assistance but still struggle financially. "These are people who need to check their bank balance before they go to the supermarket," Walker described. "Every time these costs go up, even by a few pence... the accumulative effect really hits these people very hard."
Walker suggested the government could reallocate funds from delayed projects to provide energy bill vouchers for those in need. He also highlighted that approximately 1,700 people—about 1.5% of Jersey's population—now rely on food banks, a troubling statistic for what is considered an affluent island.
Jersey's Retail Price Index (RPI) increased by 2.8% in the final months of last year, driven by rising costs in food, leisure, motoring, and household services. While the government has stated that income support is available for low-income households, Walker argues that more comprehensive, long-term planning is needed to address the systemic issue of rising living costs.