Proposals to exempt food and domestic energy were narrowly defeated yesterday by a 26–24 margin after a marathon States session forming part of the Budget debate.
That decision leaves GST almost certain to go up from 3% to 5% next June after all alternatives were either defeated or withdrawn.
Only by taking the ‘nuclear option’ of rejecting the whole of Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf’s Budget could the rise in GST now be stopped.
• See today’s JEP for the full report
