By Ben Shenton
I AM fortunate inasmuch as I have a job that gives me quite a lot of time flexibility and I use this time to do unpaid work for charity. I’ve spent years giving my time to local charities and the work is rewarding, the gratitude immediate and the impact visible. Charity is the warm handshake, the smile, the direct connection.
I was thinking the other day about this and how I have used my time for good. However, I also came to the conclusion that the impact of this work pales into insignificance when compared to another area of my life that has achieved a much greater benefit for society.
Through this other avenue my hard work and endeavour has paid for the schooling of hundreds of children I’ve never met. It’s fed and housed hundreds through financial handouts to meet their living needs. It has paid for the emergency services which keep us all safe and secure, for new schools and public facilities and I’ve paid for hospital treatment for the young and old. I’ve paid for help for the young, and childcare for those with families.
It was not always focused on the right area though. I’ve also funded staff to have “meetings” all day, paid for projects that were doomed from the start and paid for many things that cost far more than they should.
You see my career was stockbroking/investment management and I also took a risk and set up, and subsequently sold, my own business. Those in the cosy bosom of employment have no idea of the risks involved in building a business from scratch.
In today’s money, my contribution to the lives of others through taxation is well into seven figures – yet, it’s not something I had previously really thought about.
There are many people over here that have contributed far more than me, in fact most of the money raised in Jersey to help others and keep the Island going is contributed by just 20% of the population – around 75% of all personal income tax is paid by just 20% of the population—specifically the highest‑earning households. This reflects the Island’s highly concentrated tax base, where a relatively small group of high earners contributes the majority of revenue.
And here is the weird thing, I started asking myself whether I would have done more good for society in my life by concentrating on generating taxable income for myself rather than reducing my earning power through my charitable work and my six-year stint in politics?
When I volunteer I feel gratitude directly and see the gratitude of others. When I pay tax, I see nothing – but the reach is wider, the impact deeper and the beneficiaries countless.
I recently did my 2025 tax return and from now on I’m going to consider my tax as a contribution to the greater good of others. And the ironic thing is the more tax you pay the less you personally receive in return, so the contribution to others is actually much higher.
For example, I sent my children to private school, got little assistance on university fees, have never claimed benefits and I have private healthcare. It’s a hard truth: tangible outcomes –schools, hospitals, childcare – flow from wealth, whether channelled through philanthropy or taxation. I’ve paid into a system from which I’ve drawn relatively little but that imbalance is not unfair – it is a contribution and the fundamental truth remains: taxation sustains society.
When I have a personal choice in respect of who I give money to I tend to favour efficient well-run charitable organisations with proper cost controls. Unfortunately, my donations through taxation tend to be to a poorly run organisation with many over-paid individuals, albeit thankfully the majority are hard-working and dedicated. The recent rise in costs and generous public sector pay awards is probably linked to a left-wing political party, that has been part of government in recent years, which is funded by a union that represents public-sector employees and fights for pay rises. Few in the finance sector have received the public sector pay increases, paid as our budget deficit widens.
Taxation funds both the noble and the wasteful. It builds facilities that transform lives, but also props up doomed ventures and spends money on unproductive projects. This tension is unavoidable, yet even with inefficiency, the net good achieved through taxation is immense.
So let me pose a thought experiment. If your child needed urgent medical treatment and there were three rooms to seek funding: one with a successful taxpayer and philanthropist, another with a socialist resentful of wealth, and a third with a priest offering only prayers – which door would you open?
If you are an individual in Jersey that pays tax, you should take great satisfaction in respect of the good you are doing to help others. And rather than moaning about the tax you pay, take satisfaction that your contribution funds the betterment of life for others and is far greater than you probably realise.
When I look back, I realise my greatest gift to society was not my time, but my taxes.
While “charity” is the face of doing good and giving back, taxation is the silent engine, the unseen hand that keeps the lights on in schools, the doors open in hospitals and the streets safe at night. One is personal, the other systemic, yet when measured in impact, the latter dwarfs the former.
Sadly, many Islanders are happy to take the benefits provided while simultaneously criticising those that fund it.
My conclusion is that the greatest philanthropy is not voluntary at all, but compulsory – and its compulsory nature is precisely why we fail to appreciate it and fail to thank those who actually give the most. So let me say it plainly, on behalf of all who benefit: thank you.
Ben Shenton is a senior investment director. He is a former politician, Senator, who held positions such as minister, chair of Public Accounts Committee and chair of Scrutiny. He also assists a number of local charities on an honorary basis.
