High Value Residents (FOI)

​​Request

A

For all High Value Residents (HVRs) who are subject to a minimum tax contribution, ignoring incomplete years (i.e. years of arrival and departure where they are assessed for less than a complete year), please provide data in three columns:

• Year
• Number of High Value Residents
• Number of HVR whose tax contribution fell short of minimum requirement

B

The number of HVRs who have failed to meet their minimum tax contribution obligations for one third or more of the years that they have been assessed for a complete year, and the total number of HVRs who do not fall into that category.

C

Please provide an example of any agreements that HVRs are required to sign (or otherwise agree to) that state the terms of their acceptance as a HVR and any obligations on either side.

Two further questions added:

D

If the tax return form completed by HVRs is different to those completed by other taxpayers, please provide an example of the form.

E

Please clarify if HVRs are subject to the recently introduced Long Term Care charge.

Response

A

Response declined on the basis that providing this information itself would take in excess of 12.5 hours. Article 16 Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011. (See below for detail). Additionally, presenting data in the requested way may make it possible to identify individual taxpayers. A significant quantity of statistics on the contributions of High Value Residents (HVRs) in aggregate has now been published and will be re-capped when Ministers publish the Tax Policy Unit’s review of the HVR arrangements.

B

Response declined on the basis that providing this information itself would take in excess of 12.5 hours.

C

The HVR does not sign a specific agreement. The process is that the Chief Minister issues a letter granting entitlement under Regulation 2(1) (e) of the Control of Housing and Work (Residential and Employment Status) (Jersey) Regulations 2013. This sets out the obligations and conditions upon which the entitlement is granted. An example of the obligation and conditions are listed below:

1 The in-principle permission of the Chief Minister will initially be valid for a period of six months.

2 A registration card must be obtained from the Population Office before a transaction in respect of the lease or purchase of property can be entered into, in accordance with the Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012.

3 If the HVR has not taken up residence in the Island prior to the lease being entered into, or purchase taking place, the Population Office will issue a letter of authority for the legal representative or agent.

4 The £5,000 application fee is payable to the Population Office before any formal transaction is entered into.

5 The status on the registration card will reflect the residential and employment status of Entitled. The card will also state “Conditions Apply”. This relates to the fact that the HVR’s Entitled status under Regulation 2 (1) (e) is conditional upon:

i The HVR is making any expected level of economic contribution, for example the amount of taxes paid;

ii That the HVR can only lease or purchase one single unit of dwelling accommodation for occupation as their sole or principal place of residence in Jersey, unless otherwise agreed by the Minister, and permission to retain ownership of, and occupy `Qualified’ property will be dependent in future upon them retaining Entitled status; and

iii That any property purchased by the HVR either in their individual name, or via a body corporate, must be subject to Land Transaction Tax or Stamp Duty.

6 The Population Office will liaise with the Comptroller of Taxes to confirm that a resident continues to satisfy the “economic grounds” test where that is appropriate, as well as any other conditions that have been attached to the Entitled permission, each time the card is presented, e.g. when the HVR is moving home or employment (e.g. setting up a new business/ seeking licence for commencement of new undertaking).

7 Any residential property identified to be leased or purchased by the HVR as their sole or principal place of residence in Jersey, should be limited to properties of a high value, generally in excess of £1,750,000 and with some prestige element, e.g. set in its own extensive private grounds, or otherwise property that has previously been classed as Regulation 1 under the former Housing Regulations.

8 It is expected that with effect from the date that contract has been passed, or a lease entered into in relation to a specific property, the HVR will become ordinarily resident in Jersey within a period of 12 months from that date.

It is important to note that persons authorised under Regulation 2(1) (e) simply have access to the rates of taxation provided in Article 135A of the Income Tax Law (Jersey) 1961 which currently permit income in excess of £625,000 to be taxed at the rate of 1 percent. We expect HVRs authorised under Regulation 2(1) (e) to maintain an income of at least £625,000.

D

HVRs complete the ‘complex’ Jersey Personal Tax Return Form. This is the standard eight page personal tax return form that is completed by the majority of Jersey resident taxpayers.

E 

Yes – HVRs also pay the Long Term Care charge in addition to income tax.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (JERSEY) LAW 2011

PART 2

ACCESS TO INFORMATION HELD BY A SCHEDULED PUBLIC AUTHORITY

16 A scheduled public authority may refuse to supply information if cost excessive

(1) A scheduled public authority that has been requested to supply information may refuse to supply the information if it estimates that the cost of doing so would exceed an amount determined in the manner prescribed by Regulations.

(2) Despite paragraph (1), a scheduled public authority may still supply the information requested on payment to it of a fee determined by the authority in the manner prescribed by Regulations for the purposes of this Article.

(3) Regulations may provide that, in such circumstances as the Regulations prescribe, if two or more requests for information are made to a scheduled public authority –

           (a) by one person; or
           (b) by different persons who appear to the scheduled public authority to be acting in 
               concert or in pursuance of a campaign,

           the estimated cost of complying with any of the requests is to be taken to be the
           estimated total cost of complying with all of them.

Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011