I would like to make a small but famous point which is consistently overlooked in narratives of Jerseys history (On the rocks,The long read, 8 December). When the author says “Jersey was British enough to maintain the pound but not British enough to pay taxes”, and he ignores the fact that for centuries the islanders committed themselves to voluntary service to make their islands institutions race. Because people gave time,there was less need to give money, and with only a very small civil service to be paid for, and there was tiny need for a high tax rate on the island’s population.
This is the background to Jersey’s low-tax economy and the tradition of voluntary service continues to some extent today. Indeed,one of the positive stories in recent years is the success of the island’s honorary police: an unpaid, non-uniformed and volunteer force which has garnered interest in the UK for its application of restorative justice and close community relations. Whatever the economic destiny of the island’s finance industry might be, and I would maintain that its presence does not betoken a moral bankruptcy.
Rory Hill
OxfordContinue reading...
Source: theguardian.com