Workers in Jersey’s finance industry would rather see greater cuts to public spending than those proposed, as opposed to personal tax increases, according to a new survey by Jersey Finance.

The survey ties in with the recent consultation by the Jersey government on personal taxation and government spending cuts, aimed at identifying ways to tackle the budget deficit. It was answered by 1,200 employees of the island's finance industry between the 16 and 23 August.

Of the respondents, over 60 per cent do not think the proposed cuts or savings go far enough. Furthermore, only 12.1 per cent believe that the split between spending cuts and personal tax increases should be 50:50, as proposed by the Council of Ministers. On the other hand, nearly 75 per cent thought the ratio of cuts to personal tax increases should be at least 70:30.

From the personal tax rises proposed, respondents favoured income tax (29 per cent), followed closely by a goods and sales tax (28 per cent) and social security (23 per cent).

“The results indicate that employees working in the finance industry are overwhelmingly of the opinion that government spending must be reduced before personal tax increases can be considered,” said Heather Bestwick, technical director of Jersey Finance.