Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/480415
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 18 MARCH 2015 4 MARTINA BORG JUSTICE minister Owen Bonnici has ruled out the idea of a council tax which the Opposition says, could benefit councils using a "shared tax- ation" system. The Opposition spokesperson for local government, David Agius said that the Nationalist party held that one of the ways to solve the finan- cial issues for local councils would be the implementation of a shared taxation system in the country. "We, as the Nationalist party, have made a number of concrete propos- als that have, as yet, not been dis- cussed further by the government," Agius said. "One of our proposals was to shift 10% of the already existing tax on car licences to local councils rather than to the government." Agius said that the party proposed that this figure would increase by 1% every year, until it reaches a maxi- mum of 15%. "The proposal would ultimately lead to an added estimated €6 mil- lion for local councils to use as they choose," Agius said, reiterating that the tax would not be a new one but merely a shift of an already existing tax. The idea of shifting existing taxes is also very much in line with the words of Local Council Association president Marc Sant, who said that the idea of a new tax would inevita- bly be met with strong hesitation. Car licences were specifically tar- geted in the opposition's proposals because issues like road mainte- nance fall under local councils' re- sponsibilities. Agius also explained that the party had made other proposals, like that of waiving the Value Added Tax lo- cal councils are obliged to pay. Using the locality of Siggiewi as an example of a locality with an average size and population, Agius pointed out that the acceptance of the two proposals mentioned for this locality, could ultimately amount to €130,000 a year for the council. "This would be a particularly sig- nificant sum given that the play- ground which was accepted under the capital projects fund is expected to cost around €30,000," Agius said. Agius added that the party was open to suggestions, like the idea to shift part of the tax paid by shops or hotels from the government to the local councils. "The Nationalist party hopes that the government will come to a deci- sion or at least a reaction to the pro- posals we have made to try and solve some of the more salient financial is- sues for local councils," Agius added. "Funds like the capital projects fund aim to aid local councils in their work towards improving their localities and meeting the people's needs," Owen Bonnici said. Asked whether the government would allow the creation of a council tax in the traditional sense, Bonnici said that the government would not agree to adding a new tax, but that initiatives like the capital projects fund were meant specifically to help local councils financially. Council tax is a system of taxa- tion used in England, Scotland and Wales to fund local projects. The tax is implemented at specific peri- ods when funding from the central government begins to wane, causing an interruption in certain services deemed essential to the running of a locality. The funds collected through this tax go into various projects, including the police, fire service, recycling, refuse collection, council leisure centres, park and ride schemes, maintenance of parks and open spaces and street cleaning among others. The fact that local councils fre- quently need funds is unfortunately, universally accepted, and as a result many localities often have to forgo certain works for these reasons. "One way to battle this issue would be the imposition of such a council tax on our own shores however, the addition of yet another tax would undoubtedly not be welcomed by the public," Sant said. "Discussions to this effect have so far focused on shifting existing taxes into local councils without adding new ones." MARTINA BORG ECONOMY shadow minister Clau- dio Grech announced that the op- position would be pushing two pro- posals in parliament in the coming weeks, "to discuss how businesses in Libya are being treated and can be treated by the Maltese govern- ment". Grech pointed out that it is not the first time that companies op- erating in the Libyan market were in some way or another struck by a crisis in the area, recalling 2011, when the Libyan civil war started and saw Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi removed from power and then killed. "In 2011, we managed to mitigate the majority of problems for Mal- tese companies but this time the situation is different, as the conflict is much more long-term in nature and it is both internal and external, in that there is a terrorism threat to countries outside Libya," Grech added. Grech explained that the PN be- lieved that Malta Enterprise should be prepared for a long-term con- flict, and that the opposition had come up with suggestions following discussions with entities directly linked to the country. "The two proposals being pushed by the opposition are the organisa- tion of a restructuring fund to help those companies and businesses negatively affected by the Libyan crisis to restructure and diversify, in order to be able to branch out to other markets. The second propos- al is for the government to create a mechanism to help companies and businesses in Libya and safeguard their interests and assets within the country," Grech explained. He said that helping these com- panies would ultimately boost the Maltese economy. The spokesperson for public ad- ministration and government in- vestments, Censu Galea, spoke of the possibility of having a contact office where those affected by the Libyan crisis could seek help. "The opposition's idea is to have an office where those affected would be able to call and where the government would co-ordinate all related aspects, it would be an of- fice that collects all government operations," Galea explained. The spokesperson for financial services, IT and gaming, Kristy Debono, said that hundreds of Mal- tese companies had previously used the Libyan market as a strongpoint in their dealings, but that many had by now returned to Malta due to personal safety issues. "These employees are generally skilled and they have an area of specialisation that is not so useful in Malta, so they are finding it par- ticularly difficult to find employ- ment here," Debono explained. "The ETC should try to provide more training to these workers, or if possible help them in their attempts to find appropriate jobs elsewhere." Debono explained that Malta is also suffering because it was pre- viously more attractive to foreign investors due to its close relations with Libya. "Malta needs to tap into other North African markets so that it can keep its position as an attrac- tive country for investments, just as other countries have already done," Debono said. She added that the government should be more holistic in its ap- proach to minimise damage con- trol and facilitate new markets. Grech stressed that the opposi- tion was not criticising the govern- ment but presenting points to make it as proactive as possible and that the opposition was open to discus- sions about helping these compa- nies that represent hundreds of Maltese families. News Council tax and shared taxation: increasing funds for local councils Opposition proposes restructuring fund for Maltese companies in Libya PUBLIC CONSULTATION Notice is hereby given that "Enemalta plc" has applied to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority for a partial surrender of Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) permit IP0003/07/A which is to include the demolition of tanks 1, 2 and 6, Chimneys 1 and 3 and 2 tower structures at the Marsa Power Station. e installation is located at Church Wharf in the Local Council of Marsa. e application contains a description of any foreseeable signicant eects of emissions from the installation on the environment. Information relating to the above IPPC application for the partial surrender of the Marsa Power Station is held at the following locations: e Malta Environment and Planning Authority, St. Francis Ravelin, Floriana and Marsa Local Council, Pont San Tumas, Marsa. Members of the public can inspect these documents free of charge at the above stated addresses during normal oce hours. In addition, members of the public can also view the documents at www.mepa.org.mt/public-consultation. Any objections or representations to the above IPPC application should be made in writing by not later than the 29 th March 2015 by either sending an email to the Authority at ippc.consultation@mepa.org.mt or by writing to the Authority at the address below: Director of Environment Protection Attn: Environmental Permitting and Industry Unit e Malta Environment and Planning Authority, St. Francis Ravelin, Floriana Any such objections or representations will be entered into a register which will be made public on the Authority's website, together with details of the objector, unless the person making them requests in writing that they should not be so placed. If there is such a request, the register will only include a statement that there has been the request. www.mepa.org.mt INTEGRATED POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL (IPPC) Kristy Debono, Claudio Grech (centre) and Censu Galea – proposals to help Maltese companies affected by the situation in Libya