Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/920426
maltatoday SUNDAY 31 DECEMBER 2017 News 5 ogy are indispensable aids to the low-cost travel industry. What if similar tactics were employed in Malta's property market to slow down the growth of prices? The real estate broker is still an impor- tant middleman aiding buyers and sellers to come closer to a negotiated price that reflects the true value of a property being sold and the expectations of the prospective buyer. But real estate agencies are there to profit handsomely from higher asking pric- es. What if buyers knew the complete his- tory of the house they are seeking to buy? This information already exists in the form of notarial records that are consulted after buyers place a security for the purchase of a home. But it is not readily available by way of a searchable database that can be tagged to the houses mapped on Google maps. Such technology can allow for a more granular assessment of real estate market patterns, allowing homeowners and buy- ers to track transactions, leases and values through real-time information. An ac- cessible land registry system would force agents to act professionally and slow down the speculative growth in prices on houses by giving buyers the true value of land and buildings. A market regulator could use this information recommended the values per square metre to be charged in different zon- ing areas, again allowing tenants to pay hon- est prices for rent. Tax refunds to use cars less The government has already moved fast in this area with grants aimed at encouraging the sale of pedelecs, but Malta's dependence on the car is the number one problem its road infrastructure faces. In the coming sev- en years, the Labour government is pledging a €700 million upgrade to Malta's roads, and although there is a vague commitment to replace Malta's car fleet with electric vehi- cles by 2040, car importation in Malta keeps growing. Reducing car usage on a daily basis would instantly alleviate the traffic on Maltese roads, but the carrot and stick need to be instantly identifiable, beneficial as well as punitive. Offering a system of tax refunds could be the fastest way of getting people to not use cars, but this requires the use of IT that tracks people usage of alternative modes of transport. Starting from the public sector, workers who car-pool on a daily basis could sign up to a register that binds them to car-pool for a period of 12 months. In the USA, carpooling can be a qualified fringe benefit under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, allowing a tax deduction of up to $245 per month from taxable income for carpooling expenses. More urban parks and better social housing Malta's population growth, in part in- formed by a foreign influx of service econ- omy workers, has inflated rental prices and also led to congestion in urban cores that at- tract most of these workers. On two fronts, the problem has led to Maltese taxpayers be- ing unable to afford rents in certain towns, as well as a burgeoning impact on infra- structure, roads, and the deleterious corol- lary of waste generation. If the State does not want to regulate rental prices through price guides or zoning limits, it should intervene to buy up old stock that can be regenerated into social housing or lease-buy agreements. But this kind of intervention should be also be connected to urban regeneration in town spaces were old houses are unused or lie undeveloped, to create urban, green parks and open spaces that can provide a place of respite and activity, enhance city life, and provide calm. Activity benefits bodies and reduces stress and helps combat the effects of our increasingly sedentary lifestyle and obesity. Physical access to and proximity to parks can have a corresponding health-risk reduction for that community. Tougher laws on organised crime and predicate offences Malta's economic growth has also attract- ed the interest of criminal organisations which seek new channels for the laundering of ill-gotten gains through financial services, property and gaming industries. In such a delicate phase of growth, the island cannot risk allowing a free-for-all where businesses are easily set up by organised criminal gangs as was the case with the 'Ndrangheta's gam- ing interest in Malta. Police investigators should be granted wider powers to crack down on organised crime, with tougher provisions for repeat of- fenders whose activity is proven to be part of an "enterprise" – similar to American racketeering crimes in RICO. The success of a RICO-styled law is that indictments can also be brought against individuals who take action against witnesses or victims, through anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against pub- lic participation) laws that curb attempts to use the law courts as a weapon to retaliate against whistleblowers, victims, or to silence another's speech. Malta also needs to step up its fight against tax avoidance and money laundering, and as the experience of the Panama Papers showed us, we need an independent pros- ecution service and more powers to magis- trates to carry out their own investigations. An independent and autonomous State Prosecution Service would devolve from the Attorney General, currently occupying the mutually incompatible roles of government advisor and State prosecutor.