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NEWS | Wednesday, 10 October 2007

MLP deputy dubs tax refund letters ‘cheap propaganda’

Government will be issuing 21,000 letters informing taxpayers that, within a few months or a year, they will be receiving long overdue tax refunds. But the stunt – just ahead of a general election – has been dubbed “cheap partisan propaganda” by shadow finance minister Charles Mangion.
The letters actually inform taxpayers of their forthcoming refunds, but Mangion says there is no need to tell the beneficiaries beforehand of what they are owed.
“It’s cheap partisan propaganda using people’s money, because the government is obliged to pay these income tax refunds – there is no need to inform somebody what they are owed. It’s an insult to who has been waiting for five years to get their refunds,” Mangion said.
A spokesperson for parliamentary secretary for finance Tonio Fenech said the letters were “definitely not a gimmick”.
“The cost for generating these letters is minimal but the exercise will definitely be cost-effective as taxpayers were continuously writing, calling or phoning at the department to enquire about their refunds,” the spokesperson said, adding that attending to the thousand of enquiries cost money. “(It) is an added burden on our human resources which could be deployed on more important matters.”
The government said it is committing itself to paying with interest if the deadlines promised on the letter are not observed, something Mangion acknowledged as a fair measure.
“This is a new right that has been given to these taxpayers and which the law previously did not provide for. This was also a specific measure approved in last year’s budget,” the government spokesperson said.


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