AD says medicine importers should get a tax reprieve

Alternattiva Demokratika is urging the government to hold off from collecting taxes from medicine importers to whom it owes about €25 to €30 million.

AD chairman Arnold Cassola said the collection of VAT, due today, and provisional income tax, due on December 19, should be postponed until after the government has paid importers their dues. Collecting the taxes on schedule "could mean bringing the importation of essential medicines to a standstill," he stressed.

His recommendation comes after pharmaceutical importers warned they may have to stop importing essential medicines if the government fails to pay them for overdue invoices worth €25 million to €30 million - owed to about 30 importers.

Alternatively, Prof Cassola said importers could fill in their VAT and provisional tax returns as scheduled but not hand in any payments, which would then be offset by the government from sums due to importers by the state.