John Dalli Insists Government Finances On Track

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

07 August 2002

In a recent interview with the Malta Business Weekly, Finance Minister, John Dalli assured the newspaper that the government's finances are still on track, despite suggestions to the contrary.

The government has been accused by the Opposition of failing to keep a tight enough rein on its expenditure, and for the jurisdiction's increasing structural deficit.

However, according to Mr Dalli, the Maltese authorities are well on their way to meeting the targets set, and he is confident that government forecasts will be met by the end of the year.

Speaking to the MBW last week, he explained that: 'The government accounting is still on a cash-flow system and does not have an even spread of revenue and expenditure...but we are keeping tabs on movements and are confident that by the end of the year we will have met our forecast.'

He added: 'We will be in the region of Lm77m by the end (of) December. We know this, because we know what revenues we are expecting. Seventy-five percent of provisional tax revenues come during the last six months, VAT receipts come mainly in the last part of the year and we also have some additional revenues that are planned to be received by the end of the year.'

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