Companies above standard corporate income tax threshold (FOI)

Request

The latest Jersey 2018 budget has revealed that there are 20 retail companies, five of which are owned locally that are earning £500,000 or more in profits and may be taxed. Could you please provide a list of retail companies, separated by locally and non-locally owned, that are currently paying zero corporation tax.

Response

The Taxes Office are prohibited from disclosing information by virtue of Part 3 and Schedule 1 to the Income Tax (Jersey) Law 1961 (the Income Tax Law) whereby the Comptroller and the officers appointed to assist the Comptroller in the exercise of his functions take an Oath of Office before the Royal Court which provides, inter alia, that:

“you will not disclose any information which may come to your knowledge in the performance of your duties, except to such persons only as shall act in execution of the said laws and where it shall be necessary to disclose the same to them for the purposes of the said laws, or in so far as you may be required to disclose the same for the purposes or in the course of a prosecution for an offence against the said laws.”

Therefore, the information requested is absolutely exempt information under Article 29 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011, because the disclosure of the information by the Scheduled Public Authority holding it is prohibited by or under an enactment.

Supplementary information

Under the rules applying for the 2017 year of assessment the only companies subject to a positive rate of corporate income tax are:

(i) companies that fall within the definition of “financial services company” as defined in Art 3 of the Income Tax Law;

(ii) companies that fall within the definition of “utility company” as defined in Art 123C(3) of the Income Tax Law;

(iii) companies with income from renting Jersey property or engaged in the trade of property development in Jersey;

(iv) companies engaged in the trade of quarrying (or similar activity) in Jersey; and

(v) companies engaged in the trade of the importation / supply of hydro-carbon oils in Jersey.

All other companies, including companies which undertake retail activities in the Island, are subject to tax at the standard corporate income tax rate of 0%.

The 0% corporate income tax rate applies irrespective of whether the company is locally or non-locally owned.

Article applied

Article 29 - Other prohibitions or restrictions

Information is absolutely exempt information if the disclosure of the information by the scheduled public authority holding it –

(a) is prohibited by or under an enactment;

(b) is incompatible with a European Union or an international obligation that applies to Jersey; or

(c) would constitute or be punishable as a contempt of court.