21/03/2012

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:00:09. > :00:14.Welcome to the BBC in the Channel Islands. Here are today's is top

:00:14. > :00:21.stories: a blow for our economy as the UK clamps down on offshore

:00:21. > :00:25.companies buying properties. Plus, out in force, Jersey Police

:00:25. > :00:30.Works Act to drive home the road safety message.

:00:30. > :00:40.How our used cooking oil is being recycled a to fuel the trucks which

:00:40. > :00:44.

:00:44. > :00:50.pick up our rubbish. People who use companies in the

:00:50. > :00:59.Channel Islands to buy homes in the UK worth over �2 million will be

:00:59. > :01:06.clamped and -- clampdown on like a ton of bricks. George Osborne says

:01:06. > :01:11.he will work swiftly if inappropriate ways around the new

:01:11. > :01:16.rules are found. What does this mean for the Channel Islands?

:01:16. > :01:21.People pay stamp duty or a tax when they buy a new home. The UK's super

:01:21. > :01:24.rich are using a loophole to avoid paying it. How? By getting a

:01:25. > :01:29.company based offshore often right here at home to buy it instead.

:01:29. > :01:33.That is what this man wants to stop. If you buy a property in Britain

:01:34. > :01:38.that is used for residential purposes, we will expect stamp duty

:01:38. > :01:43.to be paid. This is the clear intention of Parliament. I will not

:01:44. > :01:47.hesitate to move swiftly without notice and retrospectively if

:01:47. > :01:56.inappropriate ways around using the new rules are found.

:01:56. > :02:00.La steer, 6300 homes were sold in England and Wales worth over �1

:02:00. > :02:05.million. -- last year. Over the past 12 years, nearly 100,000 homes

:02:05. > :02:09.were bought by offshore companies based in places like Jersey and

:02:09. > :02:14.Guernsey, losing the UK taxman hundreds of millions of pounds.

:02:14. > :02:17.There were reports in the papers at the weekend after mating that in

:02:17. > :02:22.the last 12 years about 94,000 properties are held in offshore

:02:22. > :02:26.companies. In terms of how many of those are held on the islands, it

:02:26. > :02:30.is very difficult to tell. I would expect it to be a reasonable number.

:02:30. > :02:35.Is this a good news or bad news budget for the Channel Islands?

:02:35. > :02:39.is not big news but it could have been worse. States members I spoke

:02:39. > :02:42.to were still adjusting what the UK Chancellor had to say in the

:02:42. > :02:52.Commons this afternoon. They said any changes could inevitably have

:02:52. > :02:56.an impact on our local economies. How much impact could today's

:02:56. > :03:02.decision have? Could it mean job losses in our biggest industry,

:03:02. > :03:08.finance? To assess the impact, I asked tax expert Gary Todd earlier.

:03:08. > :03:12.Be it is way too early to start talking like that. It is an art --

:03:12. > :03:15.an announcement that we expected. It is probably a little bit more in

:03:15. > :03:20.regards to UK property. The Chancellor is moving against using

:03:20. > :03:24.offshore companies and he has left a clear message of intent. But we

:03:24. > :03:27.have got a year to consult and understand the changes around

:03:27. > :03:32.capital gains tax and that is the one that is really interesting.

:03:32. > :03:36.That is a move to start taxing non- residents on capital gains. That is

:03:36. > :03:42.quite a change and we have got to understand what he is going to do

:03:42. > :03:47.and how he is going to do it. The devil will be in the detail. A are

:03:47. > :03:51.we going to see... We have had the LVCR. Is there going to be further

:03:51. > :03:55.attacks on the revenue of the Channel Islands? If we have a

:03:55. > :04:01.special arrangement with the UK, we are certainly not seeing much

:04:01. > :04:06.benefit. They did not do a lot due to help us over zero-ten. LVCR was

:04:06. > :04:10.spiteful, deliberately aimed at us. This is not just aimed at the

:04:10. > :04:14.Thailand, but who knows. It is aimed at offshore companies. It is

:04:14. > :04:20.part of a political process in the UK. The coalition have decided to

:04:20. > :04:23.reduce the top rate of tax but the Liberal Democrats have said, the

:04:23. > :04:27.government must attack high-value property in the UK. The rich and

:04:27. > :04:31.the famous are buying properties over �2 million and they are using

:04:31. > :04:35.devices like offshore companies to reduce what the UK Exchequer sees.

:04:35. > :04:40.As part of that process, the Chancellor has had to go against

:04:40. > :04:46.offshore companies. Briefly, is a zero-ten, the corporate tax system,

:04:46. > :04:51.safe? Do think it has got a cloud over it? At the moment it seems

:04:51. > :04:56.safe. We have an -- a sign-off from the youth. I do not think they will

:04:56. > :05:05.rush back to look at it. If we leave it as it is, it is safe. If

:05:05. > :05:10.we tinker with it, we do so at our own peril. We will see what happens.

:05:10. > :05:14.In other news, a woman was taken to hospital in Guernsey after being

:05:14. > :05:18.involved in a three-car crash. Part of the seafront was closed while

:05:18. > :05:22.the emergency services attended the scene. A female had to be removed

:05:22. > :05:26.from one of the vehicles before being transferred to A&E.

:05:26. > :05:30.The six people injured in a three- car crash in Guernsey yesterday

:05:30. > :05:33.have all now be released from hospital. The Vazon coast road was

:05:34. > :05:38.closed for more than four hours after the collision.

:05:38. > :05:44.Road safety has been the subject of a new campaign for Jersey police

:05:44. > :05:48.are today too. 364 people were injured on the island's roads last

:05:48. > :05:51.year with 46 of them being linked to alcohol. Drink-driving, using a

:05:51. > :06:00.mobile phone, speeding and failing to wear a seatbelt on known by

:06:00. > :06:05.police as the fatal four. Good morning. Perfect candidate.

:06:05. > :06:08.This morning we are doing our road safety campaign on the fatal four.

:06:08. > :06:10.One is about wearing your seat belt which you are not doing at the

:06:10. > :06:15.moment. This driver was not wearing his

:06:15. > :06:19.seatbelt when he was pulled over today. He may get a fine but it

:06:19. > :06:23.also comes with a warning. Jersey Police are hammering home an

:06:23. > :06:28.important message they are calling the fatal four to all drivers.

:06:28. > :06:33.Looking at last year, we reported just under 2000 people for those

:06:33. > :06:38.specific four offences. When you look at drink-driving, we had over

:06:38. > :06:41.200 drink-drivers reported last year. Of those, 46 directly led to

:06:41. > :06:49.injuries that people suffered either in the car or as a

:06:49. > :06:52.pedestrian. Police work with honorary officers today stopping

:06:52. > :06:57.motorists on every parish on the island. It is very important to

:06:57. > :07:02.make sure all vehicles are safe and people are up aware of the dangers

:07:02. > :07:06.like mobile phones. I did not mind. I got told off because I had my

:07:06. > :07:11.laptop here. Why did they tell you of? Because they thought I was

:07:11. > :07:15.using it but it is off. Today's exercise is not about issuing

:07:15. > :07:18.tickets although the police have handed out a few. It is about

:07:18. > :07:26.getting the public to understand that some of the most dangerous

:07:26. > :07:29.hazards on the road are completely avoidable.

:07:29. > :07:32.Newsagents in Guernsey are counting the cost of what has been described

:07:32. > :07:36.as a terrible month. There have been days of delays because of the

:07:36. > :07:41.fog. Now with the airport closed, the national papers are arriving a

:07:41. > :07:47.day late. The latest headlines except these

:07:47. > :07:52.are a day late. With the airport closed, the nationals are arriving

:07:52. > :07:56.a day later meaning yesterday's news is as good as it gets. A it

:07:56. > :08:00.has been a terrible month with fog and now with the airport closed.

:08:00. > :08:04.was amazed yesterday how many people despite the publicity did

:08:04. > :08:08.not even know that the airport was closed and were surprised they

:08:08. > :08:12.could not get newspapers. Today I am very surprised because we are

:08:12. > :08:16.selling far more than I expected. have got my paper and now I am

:08:16. > :08:20.going to see someone with a little bit more time on their hands to

:08:20. > :08:23.read one to date. Normally this man would be out in his taxi but with

:08:23. > :08:27.the airport closed he has taken the day off. There are certain drivers

:08:27. > :08:32.that just work the airport. They are losing out completely. Then

:08:32. > :08:37.again, this is one of the houses you have to put up with. The work

:08:37. > :08:41.going on at the airport is very important. We have got to respect

:08:41. > :08:45.it. You work around it. They may not be the queue of tax is outside

:08:45. > :08:52.the airport today but with it due to open tomorrow trade should pick

:08:52. > :08:56.up again then. You are watching the BBC in the

:08:56. > :09:01.Channel Islands. Later an Spotlight with Justin and Victoria, up Y a

:09:01. > :09:07.farmer is calling for action on dangerous dogs after an attack on

:09:07. > :09:11.her herd of rare cattle. We have all heard the saying, one

:09:11. > :09:16.man's rubbish is another man's treasure. For one man in Jersey it

:09:16. > :09:22.is a reality. He collects used cooking oil from restaurants and

:09:22. > :09:27.turns it into fuel. Ever wondered what happens to the

:09:27. > :09:32.gallons of used cooking oil produced from restaurants? In

:09:32. > :09:36.Jersey Basil and his team collected. He picks up oil from 90% of

:09:36. > :09:46.restaurants, takeaways and hotels in the island and brings it here in

:09:46. > :09:46.

:09:46. > :09:52.Trinity to turn it into bio-diesel. We tip it into containers and it is

:09:52. > :09:57.stored for a period of three weeks to let some of the old Fats subtle

:09:57. > :10:02.to the bottom of the tank. You get a separation which is probably best

:10:02. > :10:06.seen in this part here. When we have gone through the process, we

:10:06. > :10:14.end up with a finished product which is what we see in the staff

:10:14. > :10:20.here. -- this jar. The collections are free to businesses to use as

:10:20. > :10:23.the contract is organised with the States of Jersey. It is so

:10:24. > :10:27.important that waste cooking of does not go down the drains. That

:10:27. > :10:32.goes into the sewers and causes technical problems and costs from

:10:32. > :10:38.us. The collection is vital. He is collecting it and turning it into a

:10:38. > :10:43.vital fuel which has greater benefits. There is not enough bio-

:10:43. > :10:46.diesel produced his after islanders. Basil uses it to fuel his

:10:46. > :10:51.collection trucks which he also runs. Next time you are cooking

:10:51. > :10:57.food with oil, if you bring it here, it could be used to collect your

:10:57. > :11:05.rubbish. A good excuse to eat more chips!

:11:05. > :11:10.Let's find out what is happening After a fine day it is all change

:11:10. > :11:14.tomorrow. Much more in the way of cloud. A little area of low

:11:14. > :11:18.pressure is developing in the Bay of Biscay. That has already

:11:18. > :11:23.produced some rain across the Pyrenees. It will move towards us

:11:23. > :11:29.overnight. One by the front a process will produce a lot of cloud

:11:29. > :11:35.as well as some patchy rain before moving away on Friday. On the

:11:35. > :11:40.weekend, the dry, fine weather will return. In the early hours of the

:11:40. > :11:47.morning, we may see some light rain. Winds from the east which will be

:11:47. > :11:53.fresh. Tomorrow, after some brightness in the morning, although

:11:53. > :11:58.the cloud is very expensive, the rain was set in. Not all of the

:11:58. > :12:04.rain will be heavy. It will be patchy at times. Temperatures up to

:12:04. > :12:14.13 degrees. After quite a breezy start, the winds will steadily

:12:14. > :12:30.

:12:30. > :12:38.dropped. For our coastal waters Clean surf for most of our beaches

:12:38. > :12:42.but not very big. Here is the outlook for Friday and into the

:12:42. > :12:47.weekend... Friday, the weather front moves away so it will be

:12:47. > :12:52.bright and dry. On Saturday, we will have a lot of fine weather and

:12:52. > :13:02.sunshine. Quite warm too. Slightly cooler on Sunday with more breeze

:13:02. > :13:05.