MaltaToday previous editions

MW 30 September 2015

Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/578491

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 6 of 23

maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER 2015 7 News Opposition's pre-Budget proposals target sustainable economic growth TIM DIACONO THE Nationalist Party has be- come the first party in Opposi- tion to present a pre-Budget doc- ument, with proposals targeting sustainable economic growth and a fairer distribution of wealth. Describing the Budget as a "business plan for Malta", shadow economy minister Claudio Grech told a press conference that the country should improve its in- frastructure and seek to attract investment on broader grounds than favourable fiscal benefits. "Economic growth can only be considered proper growth if it is sustainable and if it truly im- proves people's lives," PN deputy leader Mario de Marco said. "Malta's GPD growth is currently too dependent on government expenditure, and the number of people at risk of poverty is on the rise. "The national debt has ballooned by €500 million since 2013, the total public service wage bill has shot up by around €100 million between 2012 and 2015, and ex- ports have reduced by €721 mil- lion between 2013 and 2014. "The Opposition has long called for a frank and open discussion about the state of the economy and of public finances. Unfortu- nately, the government is acting like an ostrich – sticking its head in the sand and describing itself as positive and optimistic while ignoring worrying signs in the economy." Key proposals Energy Government should explain why it has agreed to purchase electric- ity from the ElectroGas consor- tium at 9.6c per kilowatt hour for at least five years, when it can purchase it for 5.5c from the in- terconnector. Enemalta's savings made as a result of the current low market price of oil should be passed onto the consumers through a 30% re- duction in energy tariffs. Government should provide details on planned joint venture between Enemalta and Shanghai Electric to invest in renewable energy in Montenegro, including whether the green energy gen- erated will be carried to Malta through a direct connection. Tourism Government should come clean on whether it has a Plan B for Air Malta, in the case that it doesn't break-even by March as stipulat- ed by its EU-imposed restructur- ing plan. The government should carry out a carrying-capacity study to see whether any factors could limit tourism growth in the fu- ture. Environment The value of government-owned land outside development zones must be at least equal to the val- ue of land in prime development zones, as a means of "resisting the temptation" to grant cheap ODZ land to developers. The government should reverse its decisions to split MEPA and to grant 160 tumoli of ODZ land in Zonqor Point for the partial de- velopment of a private university campus. Government should reverse the "uglification" process of Malta's streetscape and landscape. Business Government should incentivise family-run businesses to "think global" and export their products. Statistics show that 63% of Euro- pean family-run businesses sell to foreign markets, compared to only 21% of Maltese ones. Government should help fami- ly-run businesses adopt internal structures that are not dependent on family ownership, so as to help the business f lourish across gen- erations. The VAT exemption for self-em- ployed earning less than €7,000 should be reinstated. Pensions Government should provide people with information on fu- ture pensions that is easy to un- derstand, particularly to women who don't qualify for a state pen- sion as they would have taken ca- reer breaks or worked a part-time basis to care for their families. A debate should be held on the feasibility of a second pillar pen- sion system, in light of the fact that third pillar pension schemes advocated by government invari- ably only attract and reward high- er-income earners. Social justice Government should launch schemes that improve the com- petitiveness of local industries that employ people on the mini- mum wage, so as to incentivise them to raise their workers' sala- ries. Government should introduce a healthy food voucher system for families at risk of poverty, the vouchers of which will be re- deemable for meat, chicken, fish and vegetables. Government should distribute lunch boxes to schoolchildren hailing from families at risk of poverty. Traffic Government should subsidise school transport for students at- tending church and independent schools, as it currently does for state schools. Government should immediate- ly reduce fuel prices to ref lect the current low market price of oil. Good governance Government should enact into a law a 2013 motion tabled by the Opposition to establish a Par- liamentary Commissioner for Standards in Public Life. Government should publish its agreements with ElectroGas, Shanghai Electric, Autobuses de Leon, Bart's, and the Sadeen Group. More resources must be allot- ted to police stations situated in crime hotspots such as Swieqi, Sliema, St. Julian's, and St. Paul's Bay. More resources must be allotted to the Auditor General's office to enable it to deal better with its workload. Labour: PN pre-budget 'replete with errors' IN a reaction, the government at- tacked the PN's pre-budget docu- ment as being "negative", saying it contained "obvious, factual and interpretative" errors. The government claimed that Busuttil's proposal for free school lunches for children coming from families at risk of poverty "would add to the social pressure on them from being identified as hailing from vulnerable fami- lies." It also criticised the PN's pro- posal to reduce petrol prices to ease traffic had a "logic difficult to understand" and said the gov- ernment had already reduced fuel prices in the past. It said that Busuttil wanted en- ergy prices to further decrease beyond a 25% cut "after having for years claimed they could not be reduced". The government said it disa- greed with introducing a system where energy prices fall and rise according to the price of oil. "We disagree with introducing such uncertainty… what Busuttil does not say is from where Enemalta's debts will be paid," in a reference to demands for Enemalta's sav- ings to be passed on to consum- ers. It also hit out at the introduc- tion of a second-pillar pension, saying this would only increase employers' and employees' con- tributions and reduce business competitiveness and salaries. "Muscat's government wants a pension reform that does not in- crease expenses for businesses and workers." The government also said that a VAT exemption for self-employed whose incomes are less than €7,000, part of the PN's demands in their pre-budget doc, already existed. "The only difference is that the self-employed must reg- ister that they do not require a tax return. The present system prevents evasion and does not add to the bureaucratic burden for the self-employed. One asks why Busuttil wants to introduce an exemption that is already in force?" PN deputy leader Mario De Marco presenting the pre-Budget document Photo: Ray Attard

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of MaltaToday previous editions - MW 30 September 2015