The Phantom

Yeah Sam, you'll find a lot of negativity here! Admittedly the government are mostly a bunch of taxi drivers and chimney sweep schmucks that don't have a clue what they are doing. But the rest of the Island is great. I'm not entirely sure why most of the posters are still here (you'll actually find that a lot of them aren't). But in relation to your property query, it is a bit of a mystery. Up until around 2007 there was a significant over inflated bubble. But that then seemed to correct itself. In my experience, houses that stay on the market at whatever price are unrealistically priced and/or require updating. I purchased a house last year for just over £400k and was looking for ages. Anything that came up at that price that was reasonable and justifiable went very quickly (often within a couple of days). I think that houses in that price region appeal to a demographic that wants something new and shiny, well decorated modern etc. The new builds in this price region seem to go quite quickly.

Yeah sorry, going to call bullshit on that one. Show me the survey with confirmation that it was a genuine cross section of the population. S

Did you get this the wrong way round? I'd say most of the govt workers are on less than £50K. Obviously not the Politicians or 'Consultants', but the admin staff (teachers, nurses, road workers etc which would surely make up the bulk of the Govt workers). Most of the jobs for educated and qualified workers in the private sector by the time of middle age would be definitely around the £50k mark - fully qualified accountant with a few years post qualification experience would be aiming for around this and we are actively trying bring more of them here due to a shortage. Same goes for anyone with genuine software/gaming expertise. In response to Sam's query, certainly up around Mt Murray where the houses are in the 300 - 500 region, they seem to be shifting pretty quickly.

From and economic and military point of view, unbelievably Trump seems to be doing a pretty decent job. Sidenote: Just because its good for America/business/military doesn't mean its good for the rest of the world and especially the environment.

Yeah, they're exempt, but they actually choose to pay the equivalent amount of income tax that would be due on their income.

I always call it the 'Zoo' and then everyone gets indignant and angry with me, claiming it's not a Zoo, it's a wildlife park. However, no one has ever actually ever been able to give me a justifiable explanation of the difference.

KUSH FOR CHIEF MINISTER!

The annual cost per individual tax payer for the entire royal family is less than a pound. This generally seems to be the biggest gripe about the firm by any 'anti-royalists' and is pretty narrow-minded when you take into context the above. They provide much more than this in return via goodwill, patronages, heritage, tourism etc. It might be a valid point for the 'lesser' Royals, but they are being phased out and Harry seems to be have volunteered for it! The 'senior' Royals do a frankly mind boggling amount of work with engagements, visits etc. No one would really want to do all the visits and small talk that they seem to do.

Probably not enough. They would probably be better with budgets, or any kind of business related matters.

I'll edit my original post to note 'maybe 100 people unemployed who can be arsed getting a job' Of course the long term sick or professional bums would be prime individuals for a career within accountancy?

Their crystal ball is probably broken. Also they are not a business, they are a government department. Although if they start behaving like a business they then get berated = no win scenario. I'd say that there has been a significant increase in the requirement for Accountants due to evolving complications in business and tax that were probably not forseeable 3+ years in advance. It's not just Accountants though, there is a genuine skills shortage on the Island for most financial and technological businesses. It's the lack of suitably skilled and qualified staff that is actually the limiting factor for companies expanding massively over here and why many companies move away from here. There are only what, 100 unemployed over here. They're not going to fill the vacancies. The only option is to bring people over.

Yeah, exactly. I'd say that 90% of locals that have the desire/skills/intelligence to become an Accountant already are.

There is also the fact that realistically it takes you at least 3 years to get a full ACA/ACCA qualification. So if you want a fully qualified accountant now (or at any other time in the next 3 years) you're going to have to recruit from off island.

I think the 'Dick' plate is a genius idea. For mid range driving offences, that probably wouldn't get a ban, but some points and a fine. Or maybe you could reduce your ban slightly if you wore your Dick Plate?

Agreed, I can vouch for Neil @ Quinn Legal. Wasn't mega cheap, but got the job done relatively painlessly for me and it wasn't exactly a straightforward process due to the seller at the top of the chain encountering some issues and delaying things for everyone. To be honest though, you should never seek out the cheapest quote for anything. You'll get exactly what you pay for.