Politicians often make appealing speeches in carefully selected language to prove that they are justified in taking unpalatable decisions, especially those that hit hard only a section of the population.

Sometimes their exposition is replete with ambiguous terms, such as "this is people's money". Of course it is, though it sounds as if the speaker is wondering what hardship will be caused to the entire population if he has to reimburse €50 million, which is the amount of VAT which should be refunded to those who bought a car since Malta joined the EU in 2004. Of course, it would be more credible to state that the money will be invested in new hospitals, schools and jobs rather than in entertainment and travel expenses, when any taxes collected on vehicles should be reserved to cover not only the potholed roads but also the construction of good roads to make travelling pleasant and safe.

Scaring people into concentrating on current economic challenges rather than on reimbursing €50 million might persuade the party fanatics but not those who put reason before passion.

For the sake of argument, if €50 million is collected from VAT alone, five-and-a-half times as much is collected in registration fees.

For example, a car owner imports a second hand-car that costs €11,645. He pays €1,761in VAT and €9,783 registration. If one multiplies all this revenue by 14,000 + (car owners), then again by five (years 2004-2008), then one will understand why a politician can build another Mater Dei Hospital!