Surcharge gimmick

Sir, more than six weeks ago, I put a question to the Labour Party regarding the 50 per cent surcharge. I think that as a voter, I have a right to a clear answer.

Seeing that the usual pro-Labour correspondents have not answered, led me to draw my own conclusions.

Unfortunately for the Nationalist Party (Austin Gatt please note as well), I think that the 50 per cent reduction in the surcharge is feasible. And it can be in place for a very long time. But this can only be done if it is dealt with the way that the VAT-CET play was acted out. I mean, Alfred Sant had said that he would remove VAT. As we remember, he kept his word... but when he removed VAT, he introduced CET.

As for the surcharge, the gimmick is in the 50 per cent. Dr Sant has never committed himself to say from what the 50 per cent is going to be deducted. As we all know, the present Nationalist government calculated the surcharge at 97 per cent. A reduction of 47 per cent is already in place, and guaranteed until June 2008.

So I believe that it is easy for Dr Sant to just add another 1.5 per cent to the 47 per cent above and hey presto, that will be exactly half the figure of the surcharge: 50 per cent. So the cost really would be negligible.

I do not have the figures but someone from Dr Gatt's office can furnish us with what 1.5 per cent of the surcharge will cost the economy.