The figures were revealed at the last of a series of meetings on government plans to introduce a 5% sales tax on good and services.

Senator Philip Ozouf told islanders it would cost �1.75m and require an extra 30 staff to administer.

The Finance and Economics Committee president, Senator Terry le Sueur, said: "There is the cost of ongoing collection, which comes from local retailers.

"And we want to ensure that sales tax would not be abused by people shopping on the internet and avoiding local retailers."