The home-in-exile of French writer Victor Hugo, Guernsey is the second largest of the Channel Islands and is its own self-governing British crown dependency. Despite some of its international relations being handled by the UK, Guernsey is a Bailiwick (the jurisdiction of a bailiff) under the British Crown but not a part of the United Kingdom. Its laws and taxes are therefore separate from those of mainland Britain though its currency is the pound sterling. 

The cost of business 

As an offshore financial centre slightly smaller than Jersey, living on the island can be expensive, in particular for housing. Some businesses may have particular reasons for needing access to the island’s financial and legal services. Some need an offshore address for tax purposes, but otherwise it is not a typical destination for trade or digital nomads.  

If you can afford it, Jersey is a great place to be, however. The top rate of income tax is 20% and and VAT is 5%, for starters! Guernsey is a location with low crime rate, so you can wander around as a tourist knowing that you are in safe hands.  The island offers the warmest and sunniest weather in all of the British Isles (though that might not be saying much) and is but a hop, skip and a jump from the coast of France. 

There are so many beaches that they seem endless, and Castle Cornet offers a fascinating glimpse of English Civil War history and intra islands rivalry – a Royalist stronghold supported by Jersey against Parliamentarian forces on Guernsey.