1,000 fulfilment jobs under threat

A new attempt to close the VAT loophole that allows Jersey to ship goods like CDs and DVDs into the UK tax-free is expected in the Chancellor George Osborne’s pre-Budget statement in December, and the industry is braced for bad news.

Economic Development Minister Alan Maclean called industry leaders in for a ‘confidential briefing’ on Monday afternoon to tell them that they should expect to get hit.

He has stressed to the JEP that they have heard nothing official from the UK, but a similar briefing was held in Guernsey at exactly the same time.

• See Wednesday’s JEP for full report