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2 Budget 2014 maltatoday, TUESDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2013 PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MANGION Busuttil blasts feel-good factor: more taxes, no new jobs JURGEN BALZAN Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil: "We were eagerly waiting for concrete plans on job creation, however there was no mention of it" OPPOSITION leader Simon Busuttil poured cold water over Labour's first budget in the legislature, saying Joseph Muscat had increased taxes and created no new jobs. Speaking minutes after the Finance Minister Edward Scicluna ended his first fully fledged budget, Busuttil hit out at the Labour government's decision to "phenomenally increase €170 million in taxes" which he said would work out at €400 per capita. This increase included €72 million in new indirect taxes, the PN leader said, adding that the measures announced by the finance minister would come at a price. "The government is trying to give out goodies but it will come at the cost of the taxpayer," he said, noting that the increase in taxation – most notably amongst car taxation – would "more than make up for the reductions in the energy bills". In a brief press conference held in the President's Palace, Busuttil – who stood in front of his parliamentary group – insisted that the tax increases were in clear breach of the Labour Party's electoral pledge not to increase taxation. Asked how a PN government would have increased revenue, Busuttil said that this would have been achieved by implementing the party's electoral programme, which was centered on economic growth and job creation. Busuttil also said the Budget lacked measures on job creation. "We were eagerly waiting for concrete plans on job creation, however there was no mention of it. The few measures mentioned were the ones this government inherited from the PN government. "The only new idea mentioned was the sale of passports, which is clearly opposed by the majority of people and against which we will fight tooth and nail." Stressing that the 2014 Budget would not create wealth, Busuttil said that employment affected everyone, and with unemployment on the increase action needed to be taken. "Unemployment is increasing month after month, with a 13% increase registered in September over the previous year. These are people, not numbers, and therefore we expected the Budget to address this and present us with an economic vision for the country's future." He added that the government failed to speak about new economic sectors and only limited itself to address sectors which flourished under PN administrations. "We agree with the incentives announced today which intend to attract persons to the labour market, but it's useless if no new jobs are created." Turning to the national debt, Busuttil said that the government's projections showed that the debt is to increase by €500 million in the next three years, while the government's planned deficit was higher than that projected by the previous PN government. On the government's decision to give the VAT refunds on car registrations over seven years, Busuttil said that the Budget gave no guarantee of refunding the full payment, while hitting out at the government's "hypocrisy" for increasing road licenses for vehicles.

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