The government would be taking all possible actions to recover VAT from all those involved in the fraud case at the VAT Department, the Finance Ministry said this evening.

"This is a government which fights abuse through every means," the ministry said in a statement.

It pointed out that it had been the Minister of Finance himself who asked the police to investigate allegations of fraud. Those investigations had subsequently led to the current proceedings in court.

The proceedings were independent of the government, the ministry said.

"When Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat tries to link the court sentences with the government, he would be trying to confuse people and mix up the facts," the ministry said.

The ministry, which was reacting to an earlier statement by Dr Muscat, said the Opposition leader had been superficial in his comments on the Budget.

The international economic crisis had affected the government's revenue, the ministry said. The government had reduced income tax in the past three Budgets but in such times of crisis, the government focus was on saving jobs.

See also:

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090915/local/pl-expecting-good-budget

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090915/local/no-income-tax-cuts-in-the-next-budget-minister

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