States Members have approved the first phase of the move to Independent Taxation, by 41 votes for and 2 against.
The vote means that Independent Taxation will be compulsory for people who marry or enter into a civil partnership on or after 1 January 2022, and for all new arrivals to the Island after this date, regardless of whether they are married or single.
The vote also means that the 671 married couples and civil partnerships who elected for separate assessment for the 2020 tax year will have the option to take part in a pilot group and move to Independent Taxation for the 2022 tax year.
They will receive a letter in the next few days asking them to register for the pilot group and confirm whether they wish to move to Independent Taxation for 2022, by Friday, 29 October 2021. The pilot group will also gather feedback on processes and customer support so that improvements can be made ahead of Independent Tax being an option for all eligible couples in 2023.
All households will receive a leaflet through their letterbox from Monday, 20 September, which will have key information about Independent Taxation. It details how islanders may be affected and how married couples' and civil partners' allowances will be replaced. Polish and Portuguese copies of the leaflet should be available online from the end of September, and from the Library, Citizen's Advice and Parish Halls in early October.
More detailed information answering common customer question will be available online at gov.je/IndependentTax.
From later this month, Islanders will also be able to use an online a tax calculator; users can input basic information about their circumstances, see how this affects allowances they may receive and tax they may currently pay as a couple, and view their potential individual bills under Independent Taxation.
Taxpayers can also find out more at a series of island-wide events in October, and a live streamed panel session in early November. Islanders who do not use the internet can pick up paper copies of the website information from the Library, Citizen's Advice and the Parish Halls from Monday, 20 September.
The Minister for Treasury and Resources, Deputy Susie Pinel, said: "I'm delighted that States Members overwhelmingly supported my plans for the move to Independent Taxation. The approval of this first phase means we can go ahead and introduce Independent Taxation for some groups from next year. It also means that all couples in marriages and civil partnerships can choose next year, to be independently taxed from January 2023, if they want to, before everyone is moved over by 2025."
"Further legislation will follow next year to set a date by which Independent Taxation would be mandatory for married couples and civil partnerships and introduce the new compensatory allowance. All through this process I've made it clear that no-one should be made worse off by these changes and the new allowance will ensure that this is the case."
Parish Hall events
St Helier Town Hall
Wednesday, 6 October: 12-2pm
Tuesday, 14 October: 6-8pm
St John Parish Hall
Thursday, 7 October: 2-4pm
St Brelade Parish Hall
Monday, 11 October: 2-4pm
St Clements Parish Hall
Tuesday, 14 October: 10am-12pm
The events are open to anyone and no pre-booking is needed.