Several want to know why they are being asked to pay tax next year based on their income from 2017 rather than 2018.
They are being told that 2017 is being used because the Taxes Office is so behind with the processing of tax forms which had to be submitted by the end of May and on which Islanders detailed their 2018 income.
On 25 November, the government published a statement to reassure taxpayers that they would not be put on the default 21% rate from January if they had not received an assessment which gave their percentage rate.
The delay in providing 2020 rates has been caused by a number of issues at the Taxes Office which have led to a significant backlog and the late sending out of assessments. Those issues include the move from Cyril Le Marquand House to the new government offices in Broad Street and the introduction of a new computer system.
Comptroller of Taxes Richard Summersgill said: ‘We are doing our best to catch up with the late assessments, and we want to reassure taxpayers that they won’t be penalised for the impact of our modernisation programme.
‘We are taking a flexible approach to applying late penalties this year and will spread any significant ITIS underpayments over next year to avoid unmanageable increases in ITIS rates for our customers.
‘I am sorry for the worry this has caused and I hope the approach we are taking will go some way towards reassuring people about their tax arrangements.’
The advice does not, however, address the position faced by those who will overpay because their 2018 earnings were lower than those they received in 2017.
A spokeswoman for the government said that the assumption had been that most people would earn more in 2018 than in 2017. She advised those in the reverse position to contact the Taxes Office if they were unhappy with their assessment and their effective tax rate because they would be paying too much tax.
Those seeking face-to-face meetings at the Taxes Office have, however, encountered long waits to see an official and have been advised to email their query and await a call back if they did not want to join the queue. Some waiting times have been longer than 100 minutes.
The advice issued at the end of November said: ‘Effective rates for the year ahead are usually issued to all ITIS-paying customers in November and this is happening as normal.
‘50,000 notices will be issued to customers by 10 December, in time to hand them to employers for payroll updates. These rates will be valid for 2020 until the next assessment is completed and a revised effective rate issued if needed.
‘If a customer hasn’t had their 2018 assessment, and make ITIS payments towards their estimated bill for the current year (CYB), their rate will be based on 2019 earnings data that Revenue Jersey holds from employers.
‘For those without 2018 assessments who make ITIS payments to cover their bill for the previous year (PYB – you would have first registered for tax before 2006) their 2020 rate will be based on 2017 tax return figures.’
