The Times reported (May 16) that the minister of tourism thanked the British government for halving the £20 tax for Britons visiting applicant members of the EU.

Perhaps our minister is not yet aware of the astronomical taxes that we Maltese have to pay when visiting any country abroad. The Maltese departure tax per head is Lm16 or approximately £24 (depending on the exchange rate); for a family of four, this works out at £96, or Lm64.

If we were to take a look at the total travel tax paid by Maltese travelling abroad as per the Air Malta Flyaway tours brochure we will find the following:

Malta - London = Lm16 + Lm18.50 (UK tax) = Total Lm34.50 per person @ £53. This means that a family of four travelling to the UK for a week are to pay Lm138 or around £212 in taxes. That`s around the value of another air ticket or loads of spending money. Children pay the same rate as adults in tax with no deductions.

If we were again to compare other countries` tax rates, we would find that Malta ranks with England and Scotland in having the highest taxes. Many other countries, including EU members have far lower taxes - e.g. Spain: Lm2.80; Egypt: Lm2.50; Tunisia: Lm2.30; Holland: Lm5.50; Ireland: Lm2.20; Cyprus: Lm4.40; Austria: Lm6; France: Lm7.60 and Belgium: Lm6.20.

Is it not a fact that Maltese travellers are being milked when it comes to travel tax? Unlike many European countries we cannot drive to another country with ease, it is either by plane or by ship.

I have no doubt that our so grateful minister will find some sweet nothings to justify this discrimination!