Maltese Opposition Criticises Government's Tax And European Policies

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

23 January 2004

The deputy leader of the Maltese Labour Party, Charles Mangion, has called on the government to put a limit on tax increases, warning that further taxation will damage the island’s economy as it attempts to integrate into the eurozone.

Dr Mangion told reporters at a news conference recently that the government needs to cut back on the number of ‘quangos’ and reduce bureaucracy. He argued that economic regeneration should be the leadership’s top priority in order to reduce the fiscal deficit and prevent the dismantling of the social security system.

The senior Labour member also criticised the government’s privatisation programme, arguing that national assets are being sold off merely to service the interest on the country’s debt.

Furthermore, Mangion urged the government to apply the brakes on its European policy, arguing that to rush into the single currency presents an unecessary risk to the economy. He noted that other accession countries are taking a much slower route to European integration.

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