The proposed Jersey Infrastructure Levy will be imposed on the developers of private-sector building schemes with 75 square metres or more of floor space – roughly the size of a two-bedroom apartment. Affordable housing and charitable trust projects would be exempt from the charge.
Environment Minister Steve Luce has proposed setting the levy at £85 per square metre, although he has stressed that this is still open for negotiation.
He added that if his proposals were given the go-ahead, the charge could produce between £1.5 million and £2.5 million a year, which would be spent primarily on projects in St Helier such as children’s playgrounds, tree planting, cycle paths and community gardens.
A three-month consultation involving the public and the construction industry about the levy is now under way and Deputy Luce says that he hopes to bring a proposition before the States in November and that the charge would be rolled out in early 2019.
One property developer today criticised the charge, saying it would ‘restrict inward investment and deter development’, and an architect labelled it a ‘stealth tax’.
However, Deputy Luce said that despite the charge developers would still make at least a 20 per profit.
