Opposition leader Simon Busuttil this afternoon criticised the government's plans to increase its revenue from indirect taxation by almost €50 million and asked whether this was the Budget surprise which the prime minister spoke about on Sunday.

Reacting to plans revealed by the government yesterday, Dr Busuttil accused Dr Muscat of making a major U-turn after having promised before the election that he would reduce the tax burden.

"The government has now told Brussels that the tax burden will rise by a full 1 per cent in 2014" Dr Busuttil said.

This was further confirmation that the government had no economic and fiscal direction.

Dr Busuttil said the document published yesterday also confirmed that the prime minister had not been saying the truth when he had declared that the EU had not ordered Budget cuts when it placed Malta under an Excessive Deficit Procedure.

He called on the prime minister to explain what taxes he will raise so as not to continue to create dangerous economic uncertainty.

REACTION TO DALLI STATEMENT

Asked for his reaction to criticism by John Dalli yesterday, Dr Busuttil said he believed the statement given under oath in court by former Police Commissioner John Rizzo rather than Mr Dalli.

Mr Rizzo had said that he had wanted to arraign Mr Dalli, and the Attorney General agreed with him. He had denied he was pressured by the former government.

Mr Dalli said yesterday that the present government had not put any pressure for him not to be arraigned, but it was clear that pressure for his arraignment was put by the former government. 

PL REACTION

In a reaction, the Labour Party said that Dr Busuttil was being negative and trying to scare the people. The government, it said, was working to narrow the deficit it had inherited from the former government and would reduce it to below 3% by the end of the year. The government was also boosting the economy through the new agreements with China and Libya and the calls for expressions of interest for major infrastructural projects.

The Pl insisted that the government would not raise VAT and this was only an invention by Dr Buuttil to instil fear.

 

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