Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1266179
10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 JULY 2020 NEWS Environment & Resources Authority Hexagon House, Spencer Hill, Marsa. NOTICE TO LANDOWNERS The Environment and Resources Authority hereby no fies landowners that the sites listed below have been included in the list of protected areas in view of their ecological importance: • L-Inħawi tal-Wej – Il-Mosta/In-Naxxar: Special Area of Conserva on • L-Inħawi ta' Ħas-Saptan – Ħal Għaxaq: Special Area of Conserva on • Wied il-Mielaħ u l-Inħawi tal-Madwar– L-Għarb/L-Għasri/Iż-Żebbuġ: Special Area of Conserva on & Special Protec on Area • L-Għadira s-Safra u l-Iskoll tal-Għallis – In-Naxxar: Extension of an exis ng Special Area of Conserva on These sites have been protected according to the provisions of the Environment Protec on Act (Cap. 549) and the Flora, Fauna and Natural Habitats Protec on Regula ons (S.L. 549.44) and by means of Government No ce No. 1522 of 2019. For more informa on scan the QR code or go to era.org.mt Pay it black! Maltese most likely to buy goods and services without VAT JAMES DEBONO THE Maltese are the most like- ly in Europe to say that they have bought undeclared goods or services, a new survey by the EU's polling arm Eurobarome- ter found. Overall in Europe only one in ten respondents said that they had acquired goods or servic- es where they have "good rea- son to believe that undeclared work was involved" because no receipt or invoice was handed to them. But in Malta the percentage of those who have done so shoots up to 30%. The largest proportion of re- spondents buying illegal goods or services were reported in Malta (30%), the Netherlands and Greece (27%). The lowest percentage of pur- chasers of illegal goods or ser- vices was reported in Poland and the United Kingdom (5%) and Germany (7%). When asked which goods or services they had good reason to believe were undeclared, 36% mentioned home repair and hairdressing services, while 40% mentioned health- care services. When asked why they had bought these undeclared ser- vices or goods, 52% of the Mal- tese replied that they had only realised this was the case after paying. Only 30% replied that they had done so because un- declared goods and services are cheaper. Malta also reported a sharp 7-point increase in the percent- age of respondents who bought illegal goods and services when compared to another survey held in May 2013. Since May 2013 the number of respondents who say they personally know people who work without declaring all of their income has shot up by 17 points. The percentage of those who know people who do not declare their income has now reached 37%, which is four points above that reported in all 28 member states. The survey also shows a low level of trust in the institutions responsible for tackling tax evasion: only 44% trust the tax authorities, compared to 50% in the whole EU, while just 39% trust the labour inspectorate, compared to 49% in the whole EU. While the survey shows that a large percentage of Maltese are exposed to the black mar- ket economy, it also shows that the vast majority consider tax evasion by private firms as "ab- solutely unacceptable": 54% of all EU respondents subscribe to this view, but the percentage rises to 74% in Malta. But so are the Dutch and Greeks… 30% of Maltese say they buy undeclared goods or services 52% of the Maltese said they had only realised after paying that they had bought undeclared goods. 30% said they had done so because undeclared goods and services are cheaper 593 farmers making use of new water 593 farmers are taking advantage of the free supply of treated and polished sewage known as 'new water' to irrigate their crops, with most of them hailing from Gozo, Mellieha and Mgarr. Malta currently has around 19,000 farmers, of which only around 7% are full timers. This means that only 3% of all regis- tered farmers are using new wa- ter, but the percentage rises to 10% in Gozo. Consumption by farmers from localities cut off from the distri- bution network remains low. This is because these farmers have to rely on private bowsers to trans- port this water from the distribu- tion points, at an extra cost. The Water Services Corpora- tion is currently investing in a pipeline infrastructure to facili- tate access to new water. New water is an alternative to ground water extraction by bore- holes, which contributes to the increased salinity of ground wa- ter. Seven million cubic metres of treated sewage water are being produced annually, which can be potentially re-used in agriculture. The vast majority of the farmers using new water hail from Mell- ieha (168) and Mgarr (111) which together account for 47% of farm- ers making use of the free water. These localities are closest to the distribution points. 204 farmers hail from Gozo, which accounts for more than a third of consumption. More- over, this suggests that 10% of all Gozo-registered farmers are making use of new water. Farmers who use new water need to provide proof of cultivat- ed land. Based on the size of the agricultural land they are given a card, which gives them access to a quota of free water, to extract from a nearby pump.