The budget presented this evening proved that the government had not achieved its economic targets because of the bad decisions it had taken, Opposition leader Joseph Muscat said.

Addressing a news conference he said that there was no mention of the new water and electricity rates, showing that the government was either ashamed of the tariffs it had introduced or wanted the people to forget.

Dr Muscat said the budget included some positive measures such as the long overdue environmental measures, measures to encourage women to return to work, and the removal of the succession tax for the disabled .

The measures promoting alternative energy were positive but only a few would be benefiting from them although everyone would have to pay the new bills.

While all EU governments were talking about the importance of reducing fuel costs, this government had introduced a new tax on fuel.

The government would be making €15.5 million out of the new registration tax on cars, double what it was removing. It was using the implementation of an EU directive as an excuse to make more money.

The government had failed its economic targets for the wrong reasons and not because of the international crisis. It had spent €70 million and handed out 600 jobs before the election. This had led to a deficit that was triple what had been estimated.

Dr Muscat said that the country’s debts have doubled to €0.5 billion showing that the government had either been lying last year or it did not know how to govern.

The revisions of the income tax bands were cosmetic and too little to have an effect on economy. They were a far cry from what the Prime Minister promised seven months ago.

The same could be said for the cost of living increase.

He said that the government had ignored the unions’ calls and was not compensating the people for the water and electricity increases.

The government, Dr Muscat said, had wasted money when the economy was in a better situation and now that it needed to be sustained, the people were being taxed more. A Labour government would not have introduced the new water and electricity tariffs in such circumstances - it would have primed the economy, promoted investment and reduced taxes courageously.

Labour would have seen that those who had the courage to invest were sustained and not thrown into the deep end.