Finance Minister Edward Scicluna remained tight-lipped on the measures in Monday’s Budget as he held a final round of talks with the social partners.

At a meeting of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development yesterday, Prof. Scicluna avoided detail on the indirect taxes that are expected to increase to mitigate loss of revenue from income tax changes.

The measures have been kept under wraps with the minister only giving the social partners the macro-economic picture that will emerge from the Budget.

After the meeting, Prof. Scicluna told Times of Malta that the Budget measures could still be tweaked today as the final preparations got under way.

“We will be making changes to the measures between today [Friday] and tomorrow [Saturday] but everything has to be done within the deficit parameters,” he insisted.

Prof. Scicluna said the Budget had to target a deficit of 2.1 per cent next year, something the social partners seemed to be happy with.

William Portelli, from the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions, said the minister had assured them the Budget would not contain any surprises.

“We agree with the drive to cut the deficit but now we have to wait for the detail in Monday’s Budget to assess the impact of the measures.”

Josef Vella, secretary general of the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin, said his union agreed with keeping the deficit in check but also wanted to see measures that helped the economy grow and provide employees with decent wages.

On its part, the Malta Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU insisted on giving small businesses incentives to grow and invest. According to GRTU president Paul Abela such a stimulus was the only way the country could move forward.

At the meeting, the president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, Tony Zahra, reiterated his association’s proposal for a reduction in VAT on tourist accommodation to five per cent.

“I have re-stated my claim that, by lowering VAT, hoteliers will be able to use the money to invest in their hotels,” he said.

Prof. Scicluna yesterday also had a Budget-related meeting with the Prime Minister.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com

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