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MT 28 August 2016

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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 28 AUGUST 2016 8 TIM DIACONO THE St Julian's local council has urged the authorities to allocate it a higher amount of the money col- lected through a new tourist tax, so as to reflect its popularity with tourists. The council presented a united front during a meeting with tour- ism minister Edward Zammit Lewis earlier this week, during which they urged him to signifi- cantly boost its annual take from the tourist tax fund – from an esti- mated €10,000 to €300,000. In an opinion piece for The Times earlier this week, the deputy mayor, Albert Buttigieg, said it would be "unjust and insulting if St Julian's gets the flak but not the cake". "We are not asking for charity, but more tourists pass through St Julians than they do through any other town in Malta, so it is only fair that the council is allo- cated more funds that it can use for maintenance and to improve the infrastructure," Buttigieg told MaltaToday. Since June, all tourism operators – including people hosting tour- ists in their houses – have been obliged to charge their guests a 50c nightly eco tax, capped at €5. It is estimated to generate around €6 million a year, the money to be diverted into a fund administered by the Foundation for Tourism Zone Development – a public- private partnership with the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Associa- tion. The revenue will all be used for embellishment projects, aimed at improving the country's tour- ism product. Funds are portioned out among every town and village, through a formula based on their population. This means that main residential areas like Birkirkara (population: 22,047 as of the 2014 census) and Mosta (population: 19,806) will gain large chunks of the tourism tax. With an estimated population of 9,044, St Julian's is only the 18th most populous town in Malta, which means that it will earn less revenue from the tourist tax fund than 17 other towns, despite its sheer popularity with tourists. Opposition MP Robert Arrigo has insisted that funds generated from the tax must be spent in the same areas in which they are col- lected, but Zammit Lewis and MHRA chief executive Andrew Agius Muscat have summarily dis- missed his proposal as "rubbish". Yet Buttigieg has argued that it is only fair that localities most frequented by tourists get a larger slice of the revenue from the tour- ist tax fund, to make up for the damage caused to the area by the tourists themselves. A main gripe among St Julian's residents is the garbage bags that constantly pepper the streets throughout the afternoons and evenings, despite regulations that only allow them to be placed out- side in the mornings of garbage collection days. "The hours simply aren't ob- served. If people come home at 4am, they won't wake up in the morning to put the rubbish out. Instead, they'll put the rubbish out in the afternoon, where it will stay until the following morning," the Nationalist councillor said. The deputy mayor has called for an evening garbage collection service, but the council is strug- gling to cope as it is. The central government allocates it €194,321 for cleaning and garbage collection every year, but its current expendi- ture stands at €267,215. "The commercialisation of St Julian's has spilled from Paceville to the whole town, and with more funds, the council will be able to extend its evening garbage collec- tion service from Paceville to the entire locality," he said. "It's in the best interest of residents and busi- ness owners, but also of tourists themselves, who often criticise the lack of cleanliness in St Julian's." He also envisages that he council could spend its extra funds to hire green wardens and install more CCTV cameras, with the latter possibly helping to identify van- dals. "Drunk youths often vandalize residents' cars and piss on their cars and inside their letterboxes. Residents are fed up now." tdiacono@mediatoday.com.mt News St Julian's council appeals for higher portion of tourist tax funds St Julian's council wants a significantly higher return from tourist tax fund, that will allow it to introduce an evening garbage collection service and install more CCTVs St Julian's deputy mayor Albert Buttigieg said it would be 'unjust and insulting' if his town 'gets the flak but not the cake' 'It is only fair that localities most frequented by tourists get a larger slice of the revenue from the tourist tax fund' Ferrari, Bentley among MIRIAM DALLI A Bentley, Ferraris, Porsches and Range Rovers are among the luxurious vehicles that have been impounded by Transport Malta and the Police in a joint opera- tion clamping down on unregis- tered foreign cars. A total of 65 vehicles were seized in two raids over this month, with the second opera- tion taking place in Sliema on Friday evening, when police and Transport Malta officials could be seen in at least three different roads concurrently checking out number plates. Most of the cars were found to have Libyan or UK-registered plates but other European plates were also found. MaltaToday is informed that the clamping of illegal vehicles will be in force by the end of the year while Transport Malta is set to install an intelligent traffic system to monitor foreign-plate vehicles with various cameras, including speed cameras. This will mostly affect drivers who are trying to bypass the sys- tem by going abroad for a day, or two, and come back with "proof" of the interrupted seven-month period. Such proof would usually consist of a boat ticket.

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