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Malta Government Keeps Options Open On Budget Tax Hike

MaltaMedia

11 September 2000

This story is reproduced by kind permission of MaltaMedia at http://www.maltamedia.com

The government is leaving its options open as to whether to raise taxes in the next budget. However, the government will concentrate on cuts to its expenditure and on the enforcement of better tax collection. The Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami and the Minister of Finance John Dalli respectively made the statements on separate occasions last week.


In an interview to be published in The Times, Dr. Fenech Adami admitted that the last budget hit hard the standard of living, but “has to be seen in the context of a growing economy and against a background of benefits,” he insisted. Asked about the forthcoming budget, the Prime Minister answered, “no decisions have yet been taken. I think we will end up with a lower deficit than has been forecast... But I won't say it won't be a tight budget because the deficit is still there and it is not sustainable... There will be no giveaways."

To the question whether there will be any raise in taxes, the Prime Minister answered "I think we have to leave our options open." In the meantime the Finance Minister John Dalli, speaking after a meeting of the Malta Council for Economic Development that discussed the forthcoming budget, stressed his government’s commitment to cuts in expenditure and a better enforcement of the tax collection system.

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