Guernsey Finance

There are no political parties in Guernsey and therefore the Island is not prone to pendulum swings in regime or policy. The States is responsible for domestic affairs, its economy and tax regime. Guernsey enjoys full fiscal autonomy in tax and regulatory matters.

As a Crown Dependency, the Island's ties to the UK are through the Crown rather than the British Parliament, where Guernsey has no representation. The Lieutenant Governor is Her Majesty's personal representative and official channel of communication between the Crown and the UK Government and Guernsey.

Special terms were negotiated for the Channel Islands on the UK's accession to the EEC. These are contained in Protocol 3 to the Treaty of Accession. The effect of the protocol is that the Island is within the Common Customs Area and the Common External Tariff, which allows access to EEC countries of physical exports without tariff barriers. Other Community rules do not apply to Guernsey, unless voluntarily accepted.