21/03/2012 BBC Channel Islands News

Welcome to the BBC in the Channel Islands. Here are today's is top

stories: a blow for our economy as the UK clamps down on offshore

companies buying properties. Plus, out in force, Jersey Police

Works Act to drive home the road safety message.

How our used cooking oil is being recycled a to fuel the trucks which

pick up our rubbish. People who use companies in the

Channel Islands to buy homes in the UK worth over �2 million will be

clamped and -- clampdown on like a ton of bricks. George Osborne says

he will work swiftly if inappropriate ways around the new

rules are found. What does this mean for the Channel Islands?

People pay stamp duty or a tax when they buy a new home. The UK's super

rich are using a loophole to avoid paying it. How? By getting a

company based offshore often right here at home to buy it instead.

That is what this man wants to stop. If you buy a property in Britain

that is used for residential purposes, we will expect stamp duty

to be paid. This is the clear intention of Parliament. I will not

hesitate to move swiftly without notice and retrospectively if

inappropriate ways around using the new rules are found.

La steer, 6300 homes were sold in England and Wales worth over �1

million. -- last year. Over the past 12 years, nearly 100,000 homes

were bought by offshore companies based in places like Jersey and

Guernsey, losing the UK taxman hundreds of millions of pounds.

There were reports in the papers at the weekend after mating that in

the last 12 years about 94,000 properties are held in offshore

companies. In terms of how many of those are held on the islands, it

is very difficult to tell. I would expect it to be a reasonable number.

Is this a good news or bad news budget for the Channel Islands?

is not big news but it could have been worse. States members I spoke

to were still adjusting what the UK Chancellor had to say in the

Commons this afternoon. They said any changes could inevitably have

an impact on our local economies. How much impact could today's

decision have? Could it mean job losses in our biggest industry,

finance? To assess the impact, I asked tax expert Gary Todd earlier.

Be it is way too early to start talking like that. It is an art --

an announcement that we expected. It is probably a little bit more in

regards to UK property. The Chancellor is moving against using

offshore companies and he has left a clear message of intent. But we

have got a year to consult and understand the changes around

capital gains tax and that is the one that is really interesting.

That is a move to start taxing non- residents on capital gains. That is

quite a change and we have got to understand what he is going to do

and how he is going to do it. The devil will be in the detail. A are

we going to see... We have had the LVCR. Is there going to be further

attacks on the revenue of the Channel Islands? If we have a

special arrangement with the UK, we are certainly not seeing much

benefit. They did not do a lot due to help us over zero-ten. LVCR was

spiteful, deliberately aimed at us. This is not just aimed at the

Thailand, but who knows. It is aimed at offshore companies. It is

part of a political process in the UK. The coalition have decided to

reduce the top rate of tax but the Liberal Democrats have said, the

government must attack high-value property in the UK. The rich and

the famous are buying properties over �2 million and they are using

devices like offshore companies to reduce what the UK Exchequer sees.

As part of that process, the Chancellor has had to go against

offshore companies. Briefly, is a zero-ten, the corporate tax system,

safe? Do think it has got a cloud over it? At the moment it seems

safe. We have an -- a sign-off from the youth. I do not think they will

rush back to look at it. If we leave it as it is, it is safe. If

we tinker with it, we do so at our own peril. We will see what happens.

In other news, a woman was taken to hospital in Guernsey after being

involved in a three-car crash. Part of the seafront was closed while

the emergency services attended the scene. A female had to be removed

from one of the vehicles before being transferred to A&E.

The six people injured in a three- car crash in Guernsey yesterday

have all now be released from hospital. The Vazon coast road was

closed for more than four hours after the collision.

Road safety has been the subject of a new campaign for Jersey police

are today too. 364 people were injured on the island's roads last

year with 46 of them being linked to alcohol. Drink-driving, using a

mobile phone, speeding and failing to wear a seatbelt on known by

police as the fatal four. Good morning. Perfect candidate.

This morning we are doing our road safety campaign on the fatal four.

One is about wearing your seat belt which you are not doing at the

moment. This driver was not wearing his

seatbelt when he was pulled over today. He may get a fine but it

also comes with a warning. Jersey Police are hammering home an

important message they are calling the fatal four to all drivers.

Looking at last year, we reported just under 2000 people for those

specific four offences. When you look at drink-driving, we had over

200 drink-drivers reported last year. Of those, 46 directly led to

injuries that people suffered either in the car or as a

pedestrian. Police work with honorary officers today stopping

motorists on every parish on the island. It is very important to

make sure all vehicles are safe and people are up aware of the dangers

like mobile phones. I did not mind. I got told off because I had my

laptop here. Why did they tell you of? Because they thought I was

using it but it is off. Today's exercise is not about issuing

tickets although the police have handed out a few. It is about

getting the public to understand that some of the most dangerous

hazards on the road are completely avoidable.

Newsagents in Guernsey are counting the cost of what has been described

as a terrible month. There have been days of delays because of the

fog. Now with the airport closed, the national papers are arriving a

day late. The latest headlines except these

are a day late. With the airport closed, the nationals are arriving

a day later meaning yesterday's news is as good as it gets. A it

has been a terrible month with fog and now with the airport closed.

was amazed yesterday how many people despite the publicity did

not even know that the airport was closed and were surprised they

could not get newspapers. Today I am very surprised because we are

selling far more than I expected. have got my paper and now I am

going to see someone with a little bit more time on their hands to

read one to date. Normally this man would be out in his taxi but with

the airport closed he has taken the day off. There are certain drivers

that just work the airport. They are losing out completely. Then

again, this is one of the houses you have to put up with. The work

going on at the airport is very important. We have got to respect

it. You work around it. They may not be the queue of tax is outside

the airport today but with it due to open tomorrow trade should pick

up again then. You are watching the BBC in the

Channel Islands. Later an Spotlight with Justin and Victoria, up Y a

farmer is calling for action on dangerous dogs after an attack on

her herd of rare cattle. We have all heard the saying, one

man's rubbish is another man's treasure. For one man in Jersey it

is a reality. He collects used cooking oil from restaurants and

turns it into fuel. Ever wondered what happens to the

gallons of used cooking oil produced from restaurants? In

Jersey Basil and his team collected. He picks up oil from 90% of

restaurants, takeaways and hotels in the island and brings it here in

Trinity to turn it into bio-diesel. We tip it into containers and it is

stored for a period of three weeks to let some of the old Fats subtle

to the bottom of the tank. You get a separation which is probably best

seen in this part here. When we have gone through the process, we

end up with a finished product which is what we see in the staff

here. -- this jar. The collections are free to businesses to use as

the contract is organised with the States of Jersey. It is so

important that waste cooking of does not go down the drains. That

goes into the sewers and causes technical problems and costs from

us. The collection is vital. He is collecting it and turning it into a

vital fuel which has greater benefits. There is not enough bio-

diesel produced his after islanders. Basil uses it to fuel his

collection trucks which he also runs. Next time you are cooking

food with oil, if you bring it here, it could be used to collect your

rubbish. A good excuse to eat more chips!

Let's find out what is happening After a fine day it is all change

tomorrow. Much more in the way of cloud. A little area of low

pressure is developing in the Bay of Biscay. That has already

produced some rain across the Pyrenees. It will move towards us

overnight. One by the front a process will produce a lot of cloud

as well as some patchy rain before moving away on Friday. On the

weekend, the dry, fine weather will return. In the early hours of the

morning, we may see some light rain. Winds from the east which will be

fresh. Tomorrow, after some brightness in the morning, although

the cloud is very expensive, the rain was set in. Not all of the

rain will be heavy. It will be patchy at times. Temperatures up to

13 degrees. After quite a breezy start, the winds will steadily

dropped. For our coastal waters Clean surf for most of our beaches

but not very big. Here is the outlook for Friday and into the

weekend... Friday, the weather front moves away so it will be

bright and dry. On Saturday, we will have a lot of fine weather and

sunshine. Quite warm too. Slightly cooler on Sunday with more breeze