Government of Jersey Environmental Parking Taxes
Following its declaration of a Climate Emergency in May 2019, the Government of Jersey have set out an ambition to become carbon-neutral by 2030. While reduction of the use of private motor vehicles would contribute to that objective, it was recognised that this would also impact the revenue the government received from road fuel duty and Vehicle Emission Duty.
Galle Saliman undertook a review and provided commentary on a number of environmental charges that could be applied to the island’s parking, supportive of a change in behaviour, to replace lost revenue and contribute to the financial requirements of a Climate Emergency Fund.
A number of options were considered and short-listed.
Jersey will be carbon neutral by 2030
Workplace Parking Levy
A preferred option was for a Workplace Parking Levy (a separate and specific charge is placed upon the owner or occupier controlling parking spaces used by workers within a defined area). Evidence from other applications, including those in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne in Australia along with Nottingham in the UK, was drawn on the impact in reducing the number of parking spaces and actual use. The extent to which the charge was passed on to end-users, thereby increasing the prevailing cost of parking, was also examined.
Benefit-in-Kind taxation
Workplace parking as a Taxable Benefit-in-Kind is established in a number of countries including Canada, Sweden and Australia. The provision of a parking space at work affords the user convenience and cost-saving benefits which are quantified for income tax purposes. Unlike the Workplace Parking Levy, these taxes are completely borne by the user, potentially bringing other travel options in-scope as viable alternatives.
Conclusions
The work undertaken involved a review of current Jersey law to establish opportunities to introduce these measures using existing, or readily amended, legislation. The work also considered the process and mechanism of each options, considering the implications of the geography selected for any application and the practical difficulties, as evidenced elsewhere, of defining the value of a workplace parking benefit.
The final report set out a narrative and primer on the two options. This included a description of the process, an estimated action plan and timeline and, critically, proposed regulatory changes established through our work with legal advisers in the Government of Jersey. The report has aided the Minister come to a view as to whether the States should proceed to the next stage of exploring a Workplace Parking Levy and/or personal taxation of workplace parking as a benefit-in-kind.