JERSEY

COUNTRY

JERSEY

REGION

Europe

POPULATION

101,476 (July 2021 est.)

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

The offshore Channel Island of Jersey is the largest of the British Channel Islands, having an area of 45 square miles and a population of some 84,000 people. Although located off the north coast of France, it is part of the British Isles, but not part of the United Kingdom. Jersey is one of the world’s most important and respected international finance centers.

Jersey is a not a tax-advantageous jurisdiction. Its laws intend to provide a platform for a wide variety of international commercial business transactions, in a well-regulated, tax-neutral environment.

Jersey law permits the creation of a wide variety of property holding vehicles, by both resident and non-resident individuals. The Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 permits the incorporation of several different forms of company, including:

• Companies with shares.
• Companies with guarantor members.
• Companies of limited duration.
• Protected cell companies.
• In addition, Jersey recognises a number of different forms of partnership, including a:
• Common law partnership.
• Limited partnership.
• Limited liability partnership.
• Separate limited partnership.
• Incorporated partnership.

Trusts are routinely used in Jersey for many types of property holding structure. Jersey law introduced the concept of a foundation (a corporate body with some of the characteristics of a trust) (Foundations (Jersey) Law 2009). However, Jersey immovable property cannot be held directly on trust or by a Jersey foundation.

WIFI SPEED

download speed of 218.37Mbps

ELECTRICAL OUTLET

All power sockets in Jersey provide a standard voltage of 230V with a standard frequency of 50Hz. You can use all your equipment in Jersey if the outlet voltage in your own country is between 220V-240V.

PER CAPITA GDP

$56,600 (2016 est.)
$49,500 (2015 est.)

CLIMATE

temperate; mild winters and cool summers

RESIDENCE-BY-INVESTMENT

Jersey’s High-Value Residency program

• High net worth individuals can apply for Jersey’s High-Value Residency program providing they receive a sustainable annual income of a minimum of £725,000 and can therefore contribute at least £145,000 in annual tax payments. Applicants must also own a property on the island, generally more than £1.75 million.

Investment

• Investment type – Real Estate/ minimum of GPB 1,125,000

Requirements /Eligibility

• Your personal standing and intended plans. You must be of impeccable personal character and prove to the government that your residency in Jersey will benefit the island in some way, either through business or socially.
• Your ability to purchase real estate valued at £1,750,000 or more. You can also lease or rent a property of this value. You’ll need to fulfill this requirement once your residence application has been approved. This property will need to become your main residence.
• Your ability to pay at least £145,000 per year in tax. Your worldwide income is taxed when you’re a resident of Jersey. Considering the current income tax rates, your annual income should be no less than £725,000 (just over $1 million).

Key Benefits

• As a Jersey resident, you will gain the right to unrestricted travel within the Common Travel Area (CTA), which includes the UK, Ireland, and The Isle of Man. After holding residency in Jersey for five years, applicants can apply for Permanent Residency and British Citizenship and a UK passport after a total of six years.

Processing time

• Processing time is extremely fast.

NATURAL RESOURCES

Arable land

ETHNIC GROUPS

Jersey 46.4%, British 32.7%, Portuguese/Madeiran 8.2%, Polish 3.3%, Irish, French, and other White 7.1%, other 2.4% (2011 est.)

LANGUAGES

English (official) 94.5%, Portuguese 4.6%, other .9% (includes French (official) and Jerriais)

RELIGIONS

Protestant (Anglican, Baptist, Congregational New Church, Methodist, Presbyterian), Roman Catholic

MEDIAN AGE

total: 37.5 years
male: 36 years
female: 39.5 years (2020 est.)

URBANIZATION

urban population: 31.1% of total population (2021)
rate of urbanization: 0.68% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

PHYSICIAN DENSITY

n/a

GOVERNMENT TYPE

Parliamentary democracy (Assembly of the States of Jersey)

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

4% (2015 est.)
4.6% (2014 est.)

TAXES

Personal Income Tax Rate (highest marginal tax rate)

The standard rate of personal income tax in Jersey is 20%. This is the maximum that most residents will pay in a year.

Individuals who are resident and ordinarily resident in Jersey are liable to Jersey income tax on their worldwide income. Individuals who are resident but not ordinarily resident are taxed on Jersey sourced income and overseas income is subject to tax to the extent that it is remitted to Jersey.

Corporate Income Tax Rate (excluding dividend taxes)

Companies are liable to income tax at a rate of 0%, 10%, or 20% on taxable income. The general rate applicable is 0%; the 10% and 20% rates apply to certain companies/income streams as explained in this section. The tax rate applies to the company, the only exception being Jersey-source real property income, which is taxed at 20% regardless of the classification of the real property holding company.

Special Tax Regimes

Foreign tax relief

Jersey resident individuals who receive other foreign-source income will attract limited tax relief via a deduction of foreign tax paid from their gross foreign income. Currently, Jersey has full double taxation agreements with:

• Cyprus.
• Estonia.
• Guernsey.
• Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.
• Isle of Man.
• Liechtenstein.
• Luxembourg.
• Malta.
• Mauritius.
• Qatar.
• Rwanda.
• Seychelles.
• Singapore.
• United Arab Emirates.
• The UK.

The double taxation agreements generally contain provisions which allow the tax authorities to exchange such information as may be foreseeably relevant for the enforcement of domestic laws concerning taxes. It is expected that further double taxation agreements will be concluded in the near future with other countries, including Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

In addition, Jersey has concluded a number of tax information exchange agreements with several countries, including the UK and the US. The full list of double tax treaties and tax information exchange agreements can be found on Jersey Finance’s website (www.jerseyfinance.je).

Jersey became a party to the OECD/Council of Europe Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters on 1 June 2014. In October 2014, Jersey signed a Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement concerning the CRS with 50 other jurisdictions, including the other Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories.

The CRS has now been implemented as part of Jersey’s domestic law (see the Taxation (Implementation) ( International Tax Compliance) (Common Reporting Standard) (Jersey) Regulations 2015, which came into force on 1 January 2016).