Labour leader insists on tax cut in budget

A failure by the government to reduce taxation substantially in Wednesday's budget would prove to be nothing less than an exercise in deceit, Labour leader Alfred Sant said yesterday.

The Labour Party was not trying to raise people's expectations but was merely reflecting the Prime Minister's claims that the country's finances were sound, Dr Sant said.

Speaking during a political activity in Birkirkara, Dr Sant said he expected a substantial reduction in income tax and the electricity surcharge together with a cut if not the elimination of the departure tax.

While the MLP would be analysing the budget in detail, it would continue to criticise "incompetence" and "corruption".

It was the Nationalists and not the MLP that had primed the country into an electoral mode; however, the MLP was prepared to go to the polls.

During the past year, the MLP had consolidated its majority in local councils and would now focus on convincing the people that it could also make a big change on a national scale.

Once returned to office, Labour will give direction to the country and will not merely follow the directives handed down from Brussels as Dr Gonzi did.

Dr Sant warned about the massive cost associated with the running of the Mater Dei Hospital to the extent that the government had now admitted it would cost Lm4.5 million a month, excluding medical expenses.