Labour leader says social impact assessment comes too late

A social impact assessment in relation to the rise in the surcharge on utility bills, which now stands at 95 per cent, is underway but this should have been done before and not after the decision was made, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said yesterday.

He said the surcharge should be worked out after water and electricity meters are read and not going by estimates based on previous consumption.

Accompanied by the party's spokesman for the economy, Gavin Gulia, Dr Muscat was speaking at a meeting with representatives of the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU when the two parties discussed a number of economic issues.

Maltese citizens have the second highest tax burden rate in Europe and the European Commission does not consider Malta a low-tax country anymore, Dr Muscat noted.

He insisted that the increase in international oil prices should have been pre-empted and, therefore, these should not be used as an excuse for the government to go back on its election promises.

He said inflation is the highest in 10 years, adding that the purchasing power of consumers is being eroded.

Talking about liberalisation, Dr Muscat said it should be a means to an end but once the debate has started to open new markets this must be seen within the context of the EU Services Directive.

The GRTU warned that not all sectors should be opened because, as in the case of petrol stations, for example, such actions may not necessarily be ultimately beneficial to the consumers.

The GRTU's director general, Vince Farrugia said that the words liberalisation and privatisation should not become the government's new catchphrases and should only be implemented in order to improve efficiency and prices.

The GRTU strongly supported Dr Muscat when he called for excise duty on fuel to be reduced similarly to what had been done in Britain.

Regarding the rent reform White Paper, Mr Farrugia insisted that the section about commercial rental should be shelved pending further examination because "the few paragraphs in this section are not backed by enough statistics and are full of sweeping generalisations".

He said the GRTU never gave its consent to the government over the surcharge imposed on businesses. This had brought about a reversed Robin Hood situation where small enterprises were paying for larger ones, creating "enormous distortions" and an "inherently discriminatory and unjust situation".

Dr Muscat accused the government of being indecisive and ambiguous on the new system of vehicle registration. He called for the departure tax to be removed on sea journeys.