BBCCarl Walker said it wasn't fair for the government to be "making money from a cost-of-living crisis"Jersey's government profiting off islanders through taxes because of rising gas and fuel prices "doesn't feel right", the head of Jersey's Consumer Council (JCC) says.
Cost-of-living pressures have been caused by disruptions to shipments of oil and gas through the critical Strait of Hormuz since the war began on 28 February. Increased gas costs because of the war have been affecting local businesses and the farming industry.
Carl Walker of the JCC said it was not fair the "amount that the government makes in GST and fuel duty" rose as the cost of fuel went up
The government charges a goods and services tax (GST) of 5% on most things imported into the island. It has been contacted for comment.
Walker said over the past few years islanders had been affected by high inflation which had now been heightened by the impacts of the war and it was not fair for the government to be "profiteering or making money from a cost-of-living crisis".
"Without opening the can of worms in terms of removing GST off fuel, there might be levers available to them where they can cap the amount of duty or reduce the amount of duty there," he said.
Walker said it was not just people with vehicles being impacted because the rising prices were included in "everything that we deliver" and "everything that we consume".
He said: "This year alone, in the last three months, electricity, water and now gas have all gone up in price - we are coming out of the winter... But don't forget, people still need it to cook, people still need that energy to heat their hot water."
Walker suggested the government "might be able to find some money from somewhere and delay a project in order to issue people that need it some sort of vouchers to help with energy bills".
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The government previously said income support was available to those on a low household income, who were not working, looking for work or exempt from working.
It said it supported people with finances towards the cost of living, housing, medical needs and childcare.
However, Walker said he was concerned about islanders who sat "just above the threshold for government help", the middle class, about financial support.
He said: "There are people who earn just too much to qualify for any sort of government assistance, but they're not by any means well off.
"These are people who need to check their bank balance before they go to the supermarket, these are the people whose hearts fill with dread when they get ill and they need to go to the doctors.
"Those sort of unexpected things - the washing machine breaks, there's a new bill that arrives - the cost of something goes up even more.
"Every time these costs go up, even by a few pence... the accumulative effect really hits these people very hard."
The head of JCC added that pensioners were also affected by the rising costs and that the government needed "long-term planning" to fix the issue.
'An affluent island'
Jersey's most recent retail price index (RPI), which is a key measure of inflation on the island, increased by 2.8% in the final months of last year - fuelled by increases in the prices of food, leisure, motoring and household services.
Walker said the rising costs was resulting in higher uses of food banks and believed about 1,700 people were being supported by the food charities.
"I think I worked it out something like 1.5% of the population is relying on food banks. That's not good, that's not good for a place like Jersey, an affluent island or certainly was or is seen to be."
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