Good news for Guernsey taxi operators as cap on financial business support delayed
- Michael Murphy
- May 1, 2021
- 2 min read
The Policy & Resources Committee Of Guernsey State have agreed to delay the introduction of a cap on business support for taxi operators after listening to feedback from industry representatives, it has been announced.
Deputy Mark Helyar met with representatives of the taxi industry to listen to concerns that demand for their services had not bounced back to the level expected following the move to Stage 3 in late March, thereby placing financial pressure on operators.
Payroll support to the industry was due to be capped at 50% from 1st April, but in light of the concerns raised, the introduction of this cap has now been deferred by one month and will instead start on the 1st May. Claims are made one month in arrears, meaning that payroll support for April can continue to be claimed at the higher payroll percentage of 80%.
The Committee agreed to defer the introduction of a cap on business support which aligns more closely with the expectation of more travel activity from Category 3, and shortly, Category 2 countries and regions.
Taxi operators continue to be one of the few sectors that are still eligible for payroll support and will continue to be eligible for support until the end of June, the State said.
Deputy Helyar, Treasury lead for the Policy & Resources Committee, said: "It was important that we met with and listened to the concerns raised by the taxi industry. We needed to act fast, and we've managed to do that, but at the same time we need to balance the cost of business support given the critical condition of the States' finances.
“Our message remains the same, we want businesses to thrive, and we hope that we'll soon be in a position whereby people can safely travel into the island and make greater use of businesses like taxi operators, that rely in part on travel and tourism."
