Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/818637
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 3 MAY 2017 4 News Tax cut aimed at middle class to cost €46.5 million CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Muscat said that Labour will boost peo- ple's wealth through tax cuts, as part of a two-pronged policy to increase people's disposable in- come and to boost business. Some 190,000 people earning up to €60,000 will qualify for tax refunds of between €200 and €340 a year, which will be imple- mented throughout the legisla- ture. The scheme is estimated to cost some €46.5 million. Part-time workers and self-em- ployed people will also see their income tax slashed from 15% to 10% of their earnings, in an at- tempt to encourage more people to find a second job and to target the black economy. Students who obtain a Master's degree will be exempted from paying income tax for the first year of their employment, while students who obtain a PhD will be exempted for the first two years. Pensions Pensions will gradually increase by €8 per week, in line with the recently-agreed increase in the minimum wage. It is estimated to cost some €17 million and will impact some 90,000 pensioners. Replying to questions by Mal- taToday, Muscat countered criti- cism aired by activists that the minimum wage increase was not high enough, arguing that it had remained stagnant for decades and that it will not precede the largest pension increase in Mal- ta's history. Road resurfacing In a major campaign pledge, Muscat said that every single road across Malta and Gozo will be re- surfaced within the next seven years in what will be the larg- est infrastructure project in the country's history. The resurfacing works are esti- mated to cost around €700 mil- lion and will be funded from EU funds, the National Development Bank and the IIP posterity fund. A government agency will be set up specifically to manage and co- ordinate the roadworks. Muscat said that this will also free up funds for local councils, which will no longer have to fork out money for roadworks from their own limited means. "The days where we go abroad and wonder at how other coun- tries carry out their roadworks so smoothly are over, and the way the Kappara Junction project is being carried out will be the new normal," he said. "Potholes are a major problem on Malta's roads and when you're driving, it some- times feels as though you're driv- ing on the moon. Government agencies tell me that local coun- cils are responsible for their up- keep, but then local councils tell me that they cannot afford the roadworks. Those days are over; Malta's roads will now be on a European level." Public holidays Finally answering a call which has been repeatedly made by workers' representatives, the gov- ernment will also be giving work- ers public holidays that fall on a weekend. The holidays will either be add- ed to workers' annual leave or au- tomatically given on the following Monday, introducing the concept of bank holidays to Malta. "One of the complaints I have heard most often these past four years is that people don't have enough time to spend with their families," he said. Home ownership scheme Muscat said that the govern- ment would seek to aid those couples who just about cannot af- ford to put down a bank deposit to purchase their first home. "We will not be creating an ar- tificial market here, but rather help people who need that little extra nudge to afford a deposit. It will be monitored extremely dili- gently." Following in the footsteps of the first-time-buyers' scheme, the government will introduce a second-time-buyers' scheme. "A person could buy himself an apartment, but then eventually seek to buy a maisonette. We will help people move upwards so- cially." Employers dismiss Joseph Muscat's plan to restore Sunday holiday benefits as 'populist' and 'irresponsible' PAUL COCKS THE prime minister's promise to give back to workers any public holidays that fall on a weekend has met with stiff resistance by employers' and in- dustry organisations who have dis- missed the proposal as a populist and irresponsible promise that they are not willing to consider. Joseph Muscat yesterday announced five major proposals that the Labour Party will be including in its electoral manifesto. One of those proposals would see public holidays falling on a weekend being added to workers' an- nual leave or automatically given on the following Monday, introducing the concept of bank holidays to Malta. "One of the complaints I have heard most often these past four years is that people don't have enough time to spend with their families," the Prime Minister said. But Malta Employers Association director Joseph Farrugia told Malta- Today that businesses and companies could not afford such a measure. "This is a purely populist measure that employers are not in a position to consider, especially considering the current economic circumstances," he said. "With the level of competition our members face, coupled with other measures like the new increase in the minimum wage, this is an unrealistic proposal as things stand." The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, too, warned against "populist and irresponsi- ble promises" and noted that it had warned both political parties on nu- merous occasions – and in no un- equivocal terms – not to enter a race to out-bid each other with electoral promises that risk undermining the foundation of economic competitive- ness. "This would be nothing short of ir- responsible," the Chamber said in a statement. "The Chamber has gone on record to state that it regards the is- sue of public holidays as a closed case. Similarly, as far as employers are con- cerned the minimum wage agreement is also final." The Chamber said that, in the case of the minimum wage increase, it took six months of sensitive and coura- geous negotiations to make sure not to upset industrial relations, wage rela- tivities and export competitiveness. "For the time being, the Chamber shall not express itself further on other ideas mentioned in the context of the electoral campaign, other than warn- ing against populist and irresponsible promises," it said. "The Malta Cham- ber is eager to learn more about the workings of such promises which till now have not yet been made public." Muscat said that every single road across Malta and Gozo will be resurfaced within the next seven years Malta Employers Association director Joseph Farrugia claimed that businesses and companies cannot afford returning holidays which fall on weekends to workers