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Kurt Sansone
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi expected the social partners to come forward with their difficulties on the proposed eco-tax when he invited them to Castille on Wednesday, but what he got was a posse of livid representatives in total disagreement with the way the new tax was drafted.
The meeting was anything but calm and cordial. “It was the angriest meeting that I have been present for between the Prime Minister and representatives of the social partners in 10 years,” GRTU Director General Vince Farrugia told MaltaToday.
The social partners, including unions and employers, spoke with one voice. They were more interested in talking about what they claimed was lack of consultation on the eco-tax rather than the finer details of the proposed bill. With Gonzi not budging an inch over his government’s intention to introduce the eco-tax by 1 August, tempers flared.
The meeting was characterised by ‘strong’ statements made by the social partners critical of what they described as government’s arrogance. Gonzi was told in no uncertain terms that if he did not postpone the eco-tax, government would have to forget reaching a broad agreement on the social pact.
Wednesday’s meeting was hastily called on the same day and a number of pre-scheduled press events in which the Prime Minister and the Rural Affairs Minister, George Pullicino were to appear, were cancelled.
After the meeting government made no official statement and Friday Gonzi hinted that he was ready to postpone introducing the tax by two weeks.
“This eco-tax could have a deflationary affect on the economy and literally wipe out the minimal one per cent GDP growth we are expecting for this year,” Vince Farrugia told this newspaper.
Importers are particularly incensed with the provision in the proposed legislation that imposes the eco-tax on products that are currently in stock. This means that some importers of white goods could be expected to fork out sums as high as Lm50,000 for taxes levelled on items held in stock by the end of the year when their VAT return is due.
Some leading importers talking to MaltaToday have threatened that they will not pay those sums. “We have not budgeted for such an expense and it will create a serious cash flow problem for us,” one importer said.
Opposition to the eco-contribution has united traditionally divergent organisations more than ever. The social partners cannot understand why government has abandoned the consultation model adopted in MEUSAC prior to EU membership where position papers were discussed and decided upon within stipulated time frames.
“If this is what Gonzi means when he talks of consultation, it is an insult to those like us who participated in MEUSAC,” the GRTU Director General told MaltaToday. “This is the same apostle who preached the language of consultation,” Farrugia said of Gonzi’s hard line attitude, which has widely been described as arrogant by various social partners.
The social partners were not even informed of the introduction of the eco-tax with some of them getting to know about the measure through the press. Others like the GRTU and the FOI were summoned for a meeting some eight days before the bill was published. The ministry for the environment also chose not to consult with environment groups, who up until this day have been completely left out of the picture and were never invited to any consultation meeting nor asked for their views.
kurt@newsworksltd.com
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