Proportion of income paid in Taxes (FOI)

​Request

Could you please provide information, by quintile, of what proportion of income each person pays in tax directly (ie income, social security tax) and indirectly (ie GST).

So for example, what portion, by percentage, of their income do the bottom quintile pay in total taxes compared to say the top earning quintile?

Could you provide it as the following breakdown?

• Proportion of income lost to direct taxes (%)

• Proportion of income lost to indirect taxes (%) and then total (%)

Response

We would like to clarify that Social Security is not a tax but a contribution of earned income. The response therefore refers to “direct payments” as opposed to direct taxes.

The Statistics Unit have been able to determine direct payments as a percentage of gross income (by quintile), through completing additional analysis of the Income Distribution Survey information. 

Quintile 1 = lowest income quintile

Quintile 5 = highest income quintile

• disposable income relates to gross cash income as per the Income Distribution 2014 / 15 report, minus income tax, social security contributions and parish rates

• gross cash income is all gross earned and unearned income, pensions, regular gifts and maintenance payments, plus household and individual benefits, including income support

• direct payments include income tax, social security contributions and parish rates

Jersey Household Income Distribution report 2014 / 15

The information requested in part two of the request (proportion of income lost to indirect taxes (%) and then total (%)) is not held by the public authority; Article 10 Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 refers please see below for detail.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (JERSEY) LAW 2011

PART 2

ACCESS TO INFORMATION HELD BY A SCHEDULED PUBLIC AUTHORITY

Article 10: Obligation of scheduled public authority to confirm or deny holding information

(1) Subject to paragraph (2), if – 

(a) a person makes a request for information to a scheduled public authority; and

(b)  the authority does not hold the information, 

 it must inform the applicant accordingly. 

(2) If a person makes a request for information to a scheduled public authority and – 

(a) the information is absolutely exempt information or qualified exempt information; or 

(b) if the authority does not hold the information, the information would be absolutely exempt information or qualified exempt information if it had held it, 

the authority may refuse to inform the applicant whether or not it holds the information if it is satisfied that, in all the circumstances of the case, it is in the public interest to do so.

(3) If a scheduled public authority so refuses – 

(a) it shall be taken for the purpose of this Law to have refused to supply the information requested on the ground that it is absolutely exempt information; and 

(b) it need not inform the applicant of the specific ground upon which it is refusing the request or, if the authority does not hold the information, the specific ground upon which it would have refused the request had it held the information.