Frank Salt
Messing with the economic motor
I have seldom seen, no let me correct that statement, I have never seen such a large hammer used to crack a delicate egg. The old permanent residency scheme was abused by some applicants... true.
The terms and conditions were outdated, too low, and needed to be revised... true.
But was it necessary to create a new, very complicated, extraordinarily expensive, virtually prohibitive, set of new conditions, in order to stop a few individuals from taking advantage of our old foreign residency conditions.
Let us face it, the vast majority of applicants for residency in Malta, who came from countries outside the EU, were genuine applicants, who would be an asset to our country.
Shall we, using the same logic, now make it very expensive and difficult for foreign students to come to Malta to learn English, because a few have caused trouble in Paceville?
Was it sensible for the authorities to continue to allow new building developments specifically targeted at potential new foreign buyers, to sprout up all over our Islands, when they knew that they were about to unload this bombshell, that would and could, and no doubt will, upset the whole apple cart?
A few years back, when property was selling quite well to foreigners, due to extensive promotions abroad undertaken by local agents, the government of that day said this was too good a chance to miss and raised the stamp duty of foreigners to 17 per cent.
This was done of course without consultation with people in the industry, and the result was a complete and abrupt halt in all enquiries from foreigners wishing to purchase properties in Malta.
The government then backtracked, very soon after it became highly apparent that a property disaster was imminent, and the stamp duty reverted to five per cent.
This seems to be a trend.
Today, the local property industry first works its backside off promoting Malta as a safe, inexpensive and pleasant place in which foreigners and their families can come and live in peace. Then, when the market gets off its feet, quality developments are built, foreign residents, permanent and temporary come to Malta to see whether they would like to live here... bang... once again it is time to mess things up.
It is only fair to say that there was a need to revise the conditions of Permanent Residency Scheme, but revise, not destroy all the good work that was done over many years. Hard work, by the people who are the sharp end of the property industry. Hard work, to bring into Malta and Gozo potentially thousands of permanent tourists that would be of tremendous benefit to the economy of our country.
Now we have to get back to the drawing board.
Now we have to apologise to the many potential clients who were waiting and hoping to settle in Malta.
Now we have to see how we are going to sell the hundreds of properties that are currently on the market and those hundreds more that have new permits to build.
Many good things have been done, and many good decisions made, over the last few years by the authorities, but this one I am afraid is not one of them. In fact, this one surely ranks as one of the very worst. It is one of the worst in many ways, such as the length of time taken to bring out the new conditions, affording the business and the potential waiting customers little or no respect. And because of the lack of consultation or listening to the people who have been in the business for many, many years.
And one of the worst because of the extraordinarily difficult, expensive and complicated conditions that have been issued, which have now placed us at the very bottom of the countries that will attract new permanent residents from outside the EU. Our competitors must be amazed at their good fortune.
The property market has always been the motor of our economy. Mess around with it at our peril. And mess around with it we have.
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Mr. Daniel Debono
Sep 24th 2011, 15:13
It seems that some readers are missing the whole point here & have suddenly turned into Perfect environmentalists. I wonder how many of you go by foot or else use a car to go somewhere? So I guess it is very comfortable to be an armchair critique, but it takes a further mile to practice what you preach.
The issue here is not whether you “Sudden” environmentalists would like to criticize the author of the article or whether you don’t fancy the new properties being built. The whole argument here is that with the new Scheme, NO foreigners in their right state of mind will ever come to invest in our islands.
These foreign investments bring along with them a great wealth of opportunities to our tiny island and apart from the immediate obvious benefits to the owner of the property & agent who secures his earned commission, all Maltese people will benefit because jobs are created and EVERYONE benefits from the cleaner to the businessman who has to pay the wages of his employees let it be a supermarket or whatever.
Without these foreigners the somewhat healthy economy that has been enjoyed by many on this lucky island will finish to a halt as soon as most of these investors will go elsewhere. Do not even think for a second that this is an exaggeration because if you look into this figures of our economy , foreign investment brings along a vital push for us to enjoy Malta the way it is.
Mess with this economic balance & we will be not so Lucky… Opposition where are you ?? Wakee Wakee ???
Mr Tony Camilleri
Sep 23rd 2011, 23:39
Your motor causes too much pollution.
Vehicled have had their engine changed to Euro 5.
Time for the environmental rapists to change their motor to a dead one and stop raping the environment.
Christina Pace
Sep 23rd 2011, 16:42
No Mr Salt, property may be the motor fattening your pockets but it certainly is not what the Maltese economy depends on.
Just look at what the revenue the tourist and the technology industy generate from foreign companies/nationals and compare it to what the property market generates from foreigners.
Mr Robert Calafato
Sep 22nd 2011, 22:50
"The property market has always been the motor of our economy. Mess around with it at our peril. And mess around with it we have".
Well maybe our economy needs a new "motor"!
You know, one of those new high tech low emission environmentally friendly "motors"
Even better, lets go for a zero emission type of "motor" and solve the problem once and for all!!!
Mr John Micallef
Sep 23rd 2011, 11:35
Perfectly put, Mr. Calafato.
The premise that the property and construction industry (which has, by the way, ruined our country's best locations, apart from making a disaster out of our roads and the air we breathe) is an economic motor is FALSE.
It is very visible, but what's the added value?
How can Mr. Salt call such thing a motor when it's cash starved?
How can Mr Salt call the now well know barter exchange of services with unsaleable property be termed as an economic motor?
Or is it a dead weight?
Mr. Daniel Debono
Sep 22nd 2011, 22:37
@Bertrand- it is very clear that you have no idea what you are talking about. Unfortunatley within a few years, you will realise in what mess Malta is getting into but it will be too late then.
Mr. Daniel Debono
Sep 22nd 2011, 22:23
I honestly think that either 1) The minister realised that he messed up but is too arrogant to admit & repair the damage now that the scheme has been launched 2) Knew what they were doing but are not bothered because anyway they wont be in goverment to face the disaster to come. CRAZY MOVE
Bertrand Malley
Sep 22nd 2011, 15:04
This is really cheeky!
So Mr. Salt, who ekes out a really good buck on property not only wants Maltese to compete with foreigners with much better wages for their housing, but he also wants them to pay THEIR taxes so that someone else who would be contributing to fattening his pockets could benefit from OUR tax money and have all the benefits to which we are entitled and for which we would have been paying for a lifetime.
How more arrogant and irresponsible can Mr. Salt get? Well, it seems that when it has to do with his earnings the answer is VERY arrogant.
It is perhaps hight time to slap a tax on properties from the second home/housing unit owned upwards so as to kill speculation and a run on my tax money once and for all.
Darren frendo
Sep 22nd 2011, 09:34
I completely agree, what is also worrying is the opinion of lino spiteri on today s times stating that it is HIS OPINION THAT THE NEW MINIMUM TAX RATE IS TOO LOW!!! this begs the question, the people running for government are they qaulified people? how can you say such a thing. we had a good thing going with and our finance minister ruined it, the opposition is EVEN WORSE!!!! roll on the good times