Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/595929
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2015 11 Business Today www.creditinfo.com.mt info@creditinfo.com.mt Tel: 2131 2344 Your Local Partner for Credit Risk Management Solutions Supporting you all the way 2,747.6 million in tax revenue in 2014 Total tax revenues in 2014 amounted to €2,747.6 million, implying a tax burden of 34.6 per cent. Total tax revenue last year went up by €260.6 million over the previous year, and stood at €2,747.6 million. Tax revenue may be broadly classified under three main headings: indirect taxes, direct taxes and social contributions. All three categories of tax revenue registered an increase. The largest rise was recorded in indirect taxes by €118.5 million. These represent taxes linked to production and imports. This increase was triggered by higher returns from VAT (€60.1 million) and taxes on products (€50.4 million). Moreover, other taxes on production and import duties went up by €6.2 million and €1.8 million respectively. During 2014, indirect taxes stood at €1,111.9 million, making up 40.5 per cent of total tax revenue. Concurrently, direct taxes increased by €111.2 million. These are defined as current taxes on income and wealth plus capital taxes and other current taxes. In the year under review, such taxes amounted to €1,167.3 million, representing 42.5 per cent of total tax revenues. The rise in direct taxes was mainly the result of added proceeds from other current taxes (€38.2 million), personal income tax (€37.5 million) and corporate income tax (€36.2 million). Conversely, capital taxes registered a marginal decline of €0.9 million. Social contributions are compulsory actual contributions paid by the employees, employers, as well as self- and non-employed persons. This category represented 17.0 per cent of total tax revenue, at €468.4 million, an increase of €30.9 million over 2013. The overall tax burden denotes the total amount of taxes and actual social contributions, expressed as a percentage of GDP. During 2014, the tax burden for Malta was 34.6 per cent compared to 33.0 per cent recorded in 2013. Analysing the income tax receipts by ESA 2010 institutional sector, in 2014, the household sector accounted for the biggest share with 52.3 per cent. In addition, the financial and non-financial corporations sectors contributed 26.6 per cent and 20.8 per cent respectively. On aggregate, the non-profit institutions serving households, general government and rest of the world totalled 0.3 per cent. Slight increase in tourism in September Total inbound visitors for September were estimated at 194,189, an in- crease of 0.5 per cent when compared to the corresponding month of 2014. Excluding passengers who stayed overnight on board their berthed cruise ship, total inbound tourist trips amounted to 192,550. A total of 169,108 inbound tourist trips were carried out for holiday purposes, while a further 11,867 were undertaken for business purposes. Inbound tourists from EU Member States went up by 2.4 per cent to 162,429 when compared to the corresponding month of 2014. The largest proportion of inbound tourists were aged between 25 and 44, closely followed by those within the 45-64 age bracket. Total nights spent went up by 4.0 per cent when compared to September 2014, reaching 1.6 million nights. The largest share of guest nights (57.9 per cent) was spent in collective accommodation establishments. Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €195.9 million, an increase of 5.2 per cent over the corresponding month of 2014. Inbound tourist trips from January to September amounted to 1,409,119, an increase of 4.9 per cent over the same period in 2014.Total nights spent by inbound tourists went up by 4.4 per cent, reaching 11.3 million nights. During January-September, total tourism expenditure was estimated at €1,318.0 million, 6.6 per cent higher than that recorded for 2014. Total expenditure per capita stood at €935, an increase of 1.5 per cent when compared to 2014. Market commentary: European markets up on better than expected PMI data In Europe markets paired earlier losses and closed marginally higher on Mon- day following better than expected data on factory ac- tivity in the Eurozone. The Stoxx 600 index was up less than half a percent, getting its fi rst day in the green af- ter three negative sessions. This gives the market a posi- tive start to the month after ending a record month in October as the index jumped 8%, its best monthly per- formance since 2009. Germanys DAX 30 climbed close to 1% after Germanys manufacturing PMI was raised. France didn't fare as well but still closed 0.4% higher after PMI data was worse than expected. The U.K. benchmark also ended the day marginally higher as weak Chinese factory data is still a drag on resource companies, even though the final U.K. manufacturing PMI for October was better than expected. In single stock names, Ryanair Holdings PLC manged to jump over 3% following a solid earnings report. The budget airline announced that second-quarter net profit rose by more than 40% after a strong summer and low fuel prices. The company also stated that earnings for the full year should be at the top of the airline's projections. Swedish appliance maker Electrolux AB dropped more than 5% after the U.S. government raised issues against the takeover of General Electric Co.'s home- appliance business. An antitrust settlement proposal submitted by Electrolux AG and General Electric Co. for a pending $3.3 billion deal has been rejected by authorities after they argued that it would be detrimental to competition and is not in the best interest of consumers. In the U.S, stocks closed higher on Monday, with energy, health- care and financial stocks leading solid gains. The S&P 500 jumped over 1%. Leading the markets were shares in Tesla Motors Inc. which gained on Monday ahead of the electric-car maker's quarterly financial results scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. Investors are expected to look for additional details on mass production of its Model X, as well as price information. Shares of Tesla are up 4.2% to for the year. Also in the spotlight is Activision Blizzard Inc. that late Monday announced that it is acquiring King Digital Entertainment PLC for close to $6 billion. This move would combine the two giants of the videogame industry. The deal gives Activision, a powerhouse in console videogames with hit franchises such as "Call of Duty" and "World of Warcraft," and a starting block in the fast-growing business of mobile games. King shot to fame in 2012 with its hit "Candy Crush Saga," helping to position casual and inexpensive smartphone apps as a viable alternative to pricier games played on TVs and personal computers. Names to look out for today due to Earnings scheduled For November 3rd include Kellogg company, Tesla Motors, Groupon and Zynga. This article was issued by Andrew Cassar Torregiani, Trader/Analyst at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com. mt .The information, views and opinions provided in this article are being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri & Co. Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this newspaper. US regulators fi nd more cars with test-cheating software Volkswagen cars with bigger diesel engines also contained software de- vices designed to cheat in emissions tests, according to US regulators. Porsche, Audi and VW cars are all included in this new investigation, which affects at least 10,000 vehicles. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that cars with 3.0 litre engines from the years 2014 to 2016 were affected. However VW denies the vehicles have software designed to cheat tests. Instead the company says that cars with the 3.0 litre diesel V6 engines "had a software function which had not been adequately described in the application process". Volkswagen said it was cooperating with the EPA to "clarify the matter". "Volkswagen AG wishes to emphasize that no software has been installed in the 3-liter V6 diesel power units to alter emissions characteristics in a forbidden manner," the company said in a statement. Meanwhile, Porsche said it was "surprised" by the EPA's allegations. "Until this notice, all of our information was that the Porsche Cayenne diesel is fully compliant," it said in a statement. The EPA says the investigation is ongoing. "VW has once again failed its obligation to comply with the law that protects clean air for all Americans," said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator at the EPA's enforcement unit. The EPA identified the diesel models of seven cars as containing software aimed at cheating tests – the 2014 VW Touareg, 2015 Porsche Cayenne, 2016 Audi A6 Quattro; A7 Quattro, A8, A8L and Q5.