The two major political parties are acting “very irresponsibly” when they promise “everything to everyone” without factoring in the country’s finances, Alternattiva Demokratika’s chairman, Michael Briguglio, said yesterday.
They promise everything to everyone, as though they are Father Christmas
The Labour Party was promising that it would slash water and electricity bills and the Nationalist Party was pledging that it would build a tunnel between Malta and Gozo, he said.
But, Dr Briguglio warned, these large-scale projects cost lots of money that should be spent elsewhere, especially since recent figures showed that Malta’s deficit was on the rise.
“They are promising everything to everyone, as though they are Father Christmas,” he said.
Even if the projects were financed by the EU, he said, one had to look into whether those precious funds should be used to tackle more important issues such as social justice and environmental concerns.
He added that in the Budget proposals for 2013, the Government had said it would cut income tax for the middle and upper classes.
“The 2013 Budget is planning an €83 million revenue increase, from €840 million in 2012 to €923 million in 2013, when the same Budget is proposing an income tax cut for those earning between €19,500 and €60,000, down from 35 to 32 per cent this year and to 25 per cent in 2015.
“For such an increase in revenue to take place, the economy must grow at a rate that goes beyond recent trends and which is beyond belief given the global economic crisis,” he said.
Should such tax cuts be approved, Dr Briguglio said, it was likely that the country would have to pay up for their impact on public finance through a reduction of public services, more borrowing or compensating tax elsewhere.
“The proposed tax reduction in the Budget also lacks a social justice dimension,” Dr Briguglio told a press conference at Balluta bay. Such deductions, he added, were regressive because they were not benefiting the vast majority of workers who earned less than €19,500 and were taxing minimum wage earners who were single.
“On the contrary, AD believes in a progressive income tax system, based on the ethical consideration that those who can contribute proportionally will do so,” he said.
AD believed that property speculation should be taxed from third vacant property onwards and the minimum wage should increase and be extended to part time and contractual workers. Disability pensions and pensions for the elderly should ensure a decent standard of living, he said.