Comments by Joseph Muscat yesterday showed how a future Labour government would tax all employers, causing an explosion of unemployment, the Nationalist Party said today.

Commenting about yesterday's Xarabank programme, the PN noted that when he was asked what tax he would introduce, Dr Muscat said he would tax employers.

As a result, Dr Muscat would put new burdens on employers, who included the self-employed and SMEs, the PN said.

In contrast, the government led by Lawrence Gonzi was giving incentives to employers and the self-employed so that they could invest and take on more people.

The government in the past three years gave a series of incentives , including 28,000 owners of small businesses, such a reduction on income tax when they invested and engaged more people.

PL REACTION

In a reaction, the Labour Party said the PN was trying to attribute incorrect facts to Dr Muscat. 

It was the declared policy of Dr Muscat that a long process needed to be introduced so that taxes would be shifted from from the workers and those who created jobs, to those who polluted the environment. The process was expected to take more than one legislature. 

In terms of PL policy, the workers and those who created jobs  would be given assistance and incentives. In contrast, polluters would pay. 

The PL pointed out that the government was led by Lawrence Gonzi, who was the best paid prime minister ever and had imposed the heaviest burdens on families and employers.