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£100 for every islander to spend, direct payments to low income households, a £50m fund and a reduction in Social Security contributions all form part of a £150m package aiming to kickstart Jersey's economy.
Announced this afternoon, the set of measures aim to get the island's battered economy going again by stimulating spending in the wake of the pandemic.
As first revealed early this morning by Express, following exclusive information from senior sources, the cornerstone of the proposals is £100 to be given to all islanders in the form of a voucher or prepaid card to be spent in the local economy. It will be handed out in September to an estimated 107,800 people and will cost the government £11m.
Direct payments of £100 will also be made to 13,000 islanders from low income households. They will be made to all working-age Income Support claimants claimants (6,300 adults and 3,400 children) and pensioners on Income Support and Pension Plus (3,300 Islanders). The measure will cost the government £1.3m.
Pictured: The £100 voucher scheme is aimed at helping boost local spending.
It's also been suggested that Social Security contributions from employees should temporarily drop from 6% to 4% up to the Standard Earnings Limit of £4,558. This measure will have to be approved by the States Assembly. If accepted, it would run for nine months from October 2020 until June 2020, and affect around 55,000 workers.
Employers, meanwhile, will be given two years to repay deferred GST and Social Security payments instead of one. It is estimated that deferral of the first two quarters’ Social Security contribution is up to £50 million while GST deferrals will be up to £30 million.
Finally, Ministers have announced the creation of a £50m Fiscal Stimulus Fund available to bids from government departments and arms-length organisations. It's hoped this will stimulate infrastructure projects, and will also help provide training for staff to learn new skills.
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