Labour's vision of the self-employed

The Labour Party yesterday launched its plan on the self-employed saying it aimed "to put them back in the centre of the country's economy" and promised to cut the bureaucratic burden they faced.

Speaking about the party's vision, Labour leader Alfred Sant said the party would restrain the burdens by restructuring taxation.

Asked about the fact that most self-employed declared small incomes, Dr Sant said that apart from the tax burden there was "a taxing bureaucracy" that had to be eased.

"The self-employed are not faring well because of the state of the economy. The government has loaded them with taxes and bureaucracy," Dr Sant said.

The MLP's vision considers the self-employed as part of the economic regeneration the country needs.

Dr Sant said the VAT Department was inefficient and a source of bureaucracy and a period had to be established within which the department carried out its investigations.

The Tax Compliance Unit should not use the same yardstick and each investigation should be carried out within the limits of law.

The MLP felt it was unjust that self-employed women were not entitled to benefits if they were injured at work or when they were sick unless their establishment was closed. Neither was it fair that they had no right to maternal benefits.