The 2016 Budget will be announced in early October to avoid the “technical” problems experienced this year, when the government was not in a position to give the full list of fiscal measures to Brussels, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced yesterday.
“In this manner Malta will align its budgetary timetable with that of the European Union, whereby Eurozone members have to submit their Budget measures to the Commission by October 15,” Dr Muscat said.
For this reasons Budget preparations are set to begin as early as next March.
The Prime Minister was addressing the Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee ahead of his participation in the forthcoming European Council in Brussels.
Dr Muscat noted that the concerns expressed last week in the Commission’s opinion on Malta’s budgetary plan were due to the fact that the government could not submit the full list of measures before announcing them in Parliament.
“Had Malta informed the EU of certain measures like the change in cigarette prices, ahead of the Budget presentation, it would have been an insult to Parliament,” the Prime Minister said.
“In any case the 2015 Budget has been accepted and no corrective measures were requested by the European Commission.”
Dr Muscat yesterday also issued a stern warning to Brussels, that Malta would vehemently oppose plans to interfere in the tax policy of member states. He argued that this was a “red line” on which Malta would fight tooth and nail, as it firmly believed that national governments should have the final say on taxation measures. Dr Muscat laid emphasis on the fact that on this issue he could also rely on the support of the Opposition. While saying he was favour of more fiscal discipline, he also called for more flexibility in the implementation of crucial EU reforms including those on climate change.
Commenting on the economic prospects, the Prime Minister expressed his optimism that in the coming months Malta would continue to “beat the trend” with higher growth rates and lower unemployment than the European average.