Updated: UHM calls for lower tax bands
The UHM said today it was calling on the governemnt to reduce maximum income tax to 25% from 35%, as a means to discourage tax evasion and to leave more money in the people's pockets. UHM President Gejtu Tanti told a press conference that according to...
The UHM said today it was calling on the governemnt to reduce maximum income tax to 25% from 35%, as a means to discourage tax evasion and to leave more money in the people's pockets.
UHM President Gejtu Tanti told a press conference that according to the UHM's calculations, the cost of living allowance (COLA) for the next Budget should be €5.82 and the union felt that should be paid in full as part of salaries, and not allowances.
Such an increase, he said, would not be the highest ever. Last year €6.41 were given, of which €2.33 had been given in advance the year before.
Referring to a warning by employers that a steep cost of living increase would mean job losses, UHM General Secretary Gejtu Vella said that if there were companies facing problems, the government should tackle them on an individual basis, as it was already doing. Some companies were doing well and others had made no investment in the past few years and now they were even saying they did not want to pay the COLA, he said.
He said the UHM was also calling for a fund for the training of workers who lack basic skills; family-friendly measures, also in the private sector; a stronger Tax Compliance Unit, the engagement of more VAT inspectors and harsher penalties for those who avoid tax.
The union is also calling for a revision of unemployment benefit and the minimum wage. Mr Vella said the two were so close to each other that there was no incentive for the unemployed to go to work.
He said that the main focus of the budget should be the creation and protection of jobs, but said the UHM was also calling for a Price Watch Agency to protect consumer rights.
Mr Vella said the UHM felt that civil service resources should be better utilised, and work done by the civil service should not be farmed out to the private sector.
He also called for a re-evaluation of the mechanism used for the calculation of expenses made by pensioners to ensure that such elderly people are adequately compensated.
He also called for a review of the Pharmacy of Your Choice Scheme to ensure that all those entitled to free medicines actually got them and there was no waste.