Business licences may eventually be thrown out as part of the government’s drive to cut bureaucracy.

Anti-bureaucracy commissioner Michael Falzon, a Labour MP, said the option was one of other measures being considered to cut unnecessary red tape.

Dr Falzon told a business breakfast organised by the Malta Employers Association yesterday that his was not an easy job, but he was committed to achieving results.

The former Labour Party deputy leader was appointed commissioner for simplification and reduction of bureaucracy this year with a task to cut red tape by 25 per cent.

“We are undertaking a confidence-building exercise at the moment,” he said.

Dr Falzon said the government was in the process of enacting a family business law that will set out a framework for succession planning.

The event focused on small and medium enterprises with the main speakers being entrepreneurs.

According to MEA legal affairs executive Charlotte Camilleri, small companies often had no knowledge of legal requirements, a situation exacerbated by the lack of readily available information out there.

The problem was made worse because of the raft of EU-mandated regulations that made it difficult for small businesses that lacked resources to keep up.

The MEA used the occasion to roll out a new service for members – an SME help desk.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com