Edward Scicluna

Financial Crisis: Resolution and Avoidance – Videoblog 5

author_pc — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:23:32 +0000

In his weekly blog, Finance Minister Prof. Edward Scicluna discusses the financial crisis, and how it led to two reactions in the European Community. The first was a desire to resolve the crisis through affirmative action such as bail-outs, while the second was a desire to ensure that such a crisis does not repeat itself. Prof. Scicluna also discusses how legislation such as the Fiscal Compact will mean that countries will have to abide by certain conditions aimed at encouraging greater fiscal responsibility.

- Monday, 17th June, 2013.

GVERN LI JISMA’ – Konsultazzjoni Pubblika – Fil-Berga ta’ Kastilja – it-Tnejn 17 ta’ Ġunju fis 6.30pm

author_pc — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:02:49 +0000

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- Monday, 17th June, 2013

“Government will heed independent oversight bodies such as Auditor General’s office”

author_pc — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:16:20 +0000

Finance Minister Prof. Edward Scicluna said that the Government will support and heed the advice and recommendations of independent bodies such as the Auditor General’s Office, and pledged his full support to the office and its mission.

“I believe in this institution, and the oversight function it performs. As a Government, we are committed to heeding and supporting this institution and others like it,” Prof. Scicluna said. He was speaking during a management seminar held by the National Audit Office on Thursday 13th June, 2013, at the Corinthia San Gorg.

Speaking during the seminar, Prof. Scicluna also said that Government is currently looking towards the establishment of a formal framework that would increase cooperation between independent institutions like the National Audit Office, and the rest of Government.

“It is fruitless to monitor crises when these are already underway. Monitoring must start before during times of calm so that when trouble starts, we are in a position to head it off or counter it early,” Prof. Scicluna said, referring to the Eurozone crisis which risked affecting negatively Malta’s economy.

Prof. Scicluna also said that the government is working towards the establishment of an Independent Fiscal Council, which will be crucial to ensure that Malta remains on track regarding achieving a balanced budget.

He added that the Government is currently in consultation regarding how to best establish a framework that will ensure that this council will be truly independent.

Prof. Scicluna also said that the Government is looking towards the acceleration of the merger between the Inland Revenue Department, the VAT Department, and the Customs Department to speed up the consolidation of their respective revenue-generation functions.

Prof. Scicluna noted that to be in a position to preach fiscal morality, Government itself had to set an example by ensuring that its own fiscal approach is not unjust.

It was with this in mind, he said, that the Government had announced several initiatives pertaining to the VAT Department several days earlier, which will allow the Government to incentivise revenue in a more just and humane manner.

At the same time, Prof. Scicluna said, the Government is determined to ensure that it does not detract from existing deterrents aimed at reducing tax evasion or even late payments.

Prof. Scicluna also welcomed the reconfirmation of Anthony Mifsud to the position of Auditor General, noting with satisfaction that he enjoyed the confidence and support of both sides of the House.

- Friday, 14th June, 2013

A courtesy visit from his excellency the Dutch Ambassador Robbert J. Gabriëlse

author_pc — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:31:13 +0000

Finance Minister Prof. Edward Scicluna received a courtesy visit from His Excellency the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Robbert J. Gabriëlse, on Wednesday 12th June, 2013. The meeting chiefly touched upon issues of mutual interest to Malta and the Netherlands, the current economic climate within the European Union, and other economic issues.

- Thursday, 13th June, 2013

A courtesy visit from her excellency the Austrian Ambassador DDR. Petra Schneebauer

author_pc — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:46:57 +0000

Today Prof. Edward Scicluna, Minister for Finance, received a courtesy visit from her excellency the Austrian Ambassador DDR. Petra Schneebauer. They discussed several issues of interest to both Malta and Austria.

- Wednesday, 12th June, 2013.

Country Specific Recommendations – Videoblog 4

author_pc — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:43:14 +0000

Finance Minister Prof. Edward Scicluna discusses the European Union’s Country Specific Recommendations, which are issues that the European Commission considers a priority for each Member State to address, and how these form part of the ongoing Economic Semester.

- 5th June 2013

“Government committed to encouraging newer and more environment-friendly vehicles”

author_pc — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 17:09:15 +0000

The Government is committed to incentivising the phasing out of older vehicles in favour of newer and more environmentally friendly vehicles to address the issue of Malta’s aging car population and guarantee better air quality for Maltese and Gozitan citizens.

Towards this end, Finance Minister Prof. Edward Scicluna announced the launch of the third round of the Government Grant on the Purchase of Environment-Friendly Vehicles, also known as the Car Scrapping Scheme, on Monday 10th June 2013.

“The aim of this grant scheme is to incentivise the purchase of newer and more environmentally friendly motor vehicles and at the same time reduce the number of old motor vehicles on the road,” said Prof. Scicluna.

The scheme was originally announced in the 2013 Budget, and was launched in collaboration with Transport Malta.

Prof. Scicluna noted that past schemes proved very successful, so much so that in one particular instance, a scheme’s allocation had to be extended due to the interest it received and the resulting number of applicants.

So far, after two rounds of the scheme, a total number of 5,602 benefitted from the scheme, whereas 5,166 old cars were deregistered.

However, Prof. Scicluna said that there is further room for improvement, given how by the end of 2012, the overall average age of Maltese vehicles stood at 13.86 years, while in 2011 it stood at 13.80 years.

Specifically, the average age of passenger cars in 2012 stood at 12.99 years (up from 12.90 in 2011), while the average age of goods-carrying vehicles in 2012 stood at 17.75 years (up from 17.47 in 2011).

“This shows that more needs to be done to keep ensuring that older and aging vehicles are phased out,” Prof. Scicluna said.

The newly-announced scheme will be broadly similar to the previous schemes, and will be published in the Government Gazette as from Tuesday 11th June, 2013. An allocation of €500,000 was made for such a scheme, as per the 2013 Budget Speech.

The scheme will allow a grant of €500 for applicants who purchase a new motor vehicle that meets certain criteria, whilst at the same time de-registering and scrapping a vehicle in the same category which is at least 10 years old.

Unlike past schemes, this scheme also allows grants on electric vehicles and has also been extended so as to include small vans which fall under the N1 category. The new motor vehicles must be M1 (passenger cars) or N1 (commercial vehicles) category vehicles as applicable.

This scheme shall remain in force for a maximum period of twelve months beginning on the 1st January, 2013, and shall be automatically terminated when 1,000 eligible applicants have benefited from this grant scheme.

This scheme is open to all those who did not benefit from the scheme’s previous iterations, and every eligible person or undertaking shall be entitled to only one grant under this scheme.

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- Monday, 10th June, 2013

Miżuri biex tinġabar b’mod “ġust” it-taxxa tal-VAT [watch]

author_pc — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 09:00:22 +0000

Il-Gvern ħabbar miżuri biex jgħin lil dawk iċ-ċittadini li setgħu nqabdu fil-morsa tas-sistema tal-VAT u biex jagħmel sforz sabiex jiġbor b’mod ġust dak dovut lilu. Il-Ministru tal-Finanzi Edward Scicluna ħabbar sensiela ta’ miżuri li se jittieħdu fid-Dipartiment tal-VAT ħalli tiġi emendata l-liġi. Fost dawn semma tnaqqis fir-rati tal-imgħax minn 9% għal bejn 6 u 6.5%, ‘capping’ fuq il-multi għal dawk li jirreġistraw tard għall-VAT u bdil fis-sistema ta’ kif jitħallsu l-pagamenti. Barra minn hekk, ħabbar li se tingħalaq l-iskema tal-2012 biex jinqatgħu l-flus tal-imgħax u tal-multi b’lura.

Waqt żjara fid-dipartiment tal-VAT Scicluna tkellem dwar miżuri fid-Dipartiment tal-VAT biex jimmotivaw aktar liċ-ċittadini li jħallsu din it-taxxa permezz ta’ sistema li tkun aktar ġusta. Spjega kif il-VAT hi sors ta’ dħul ta’ €580 miljun fis-sena u qal li hemm bżonn li din is-sistema tibqa’ tissaħħaħ hekk kif b’dawn il-flus jitħallsu l-pagi ta’ dawk kollha li jaħdmu fis-settur pubbliku.

Minkejja dan, qal li filwaqt li l-Gvern irid ikollu idejh tal-ħadid ma’ min jevadi t-taxxa, min-naħa l-oħra jrid jara li ċ-ċittadin komuni ma jinqabadx f’sistema inġusta magħhom. Għalhekk sostna li se jsiru dawn il-miżuri, fosthom li titnaqqas ir-rata tal-imgħax minn 9% fis-sena għal bejn 6 u 6.5% fis-sena. Spjega kif l-imgħaxijiet huma biss deterrent u għalhekk din ir-rata m’għandhiex tibqa’ daqstant għolja li tikkomplika l-ħajja tan-nies.

Tkellem ukoll dwar il-multi, fejn qal li dawn se jiġu evalwati u se ssir sistema ta’ ‘capping’ għal dawk li għandhom x’jaqsmu ma’ reġistrazzjoni tard għall-VAT. Sostna li b’dan il-mod is-sistema se tkun qiegħda tinċentiva liċ-ċittadini biex jidħlu fis-sistema.

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- Wednesday, 5th June, 2013

Prof. Edward Sicluna on ‘Sehemna fl-Ewropa’ – RTK

author_pc — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 15:52:28 +0000

“The outlook for the economy is promising”

author_pc — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:37:44 +0000

The Government welcomes the economic results achieved during the first three months of this year, whereby the Maltese economy registered an increase of 1.6% in real terms compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

The Finance Ministry is confident that the Maltese economy can keep on growing once its present momentum, which stems from the joint positive contribution of the various economic sectors, is retained despite restricted room for fiscal manoeuvre.

“This result came about despite the political instability that swept the country for many months prior to the general election, and the uncertainty it brought about”, said Finance Minister Prof. Edward Scicluna.

In this context, it is evident that the decision taken by the Opposition prior to the election with respect to the 2013 Budget, as well as the open and ongoing consultation with the country’s economic operators, helped not only to contain this uncertainty, but also to increase confidence in the country’s economic future. The smooth transition of power similarly helped to reinforce the country’s stability.

The potential for further growth is waiting to be tapped. From its very first day in office, this Government has taken stock of the country’s finances and decided to look ahead with optimism. This Government’s early decisions concerning the energy sector and towards increasing the investment opportunities through various measures have been crucial in this respect.

Preliminary indicators for the second quarter are also showing an improvement over the first quarter in the area of consumption, exports and employment. The Government is confident that Malta’s economic prospects are positive and encouraging. Today, both investors and economic operators are working in a stable environment which inspires confidence.

The Government is also determined that, through cooperation with the private sector as well as those measures which have been already implemented and some which have yet to be announced, the economy will keep growing and living up to its potential. In this way, the Government will keep generating both jobs and economic growth.

- Friday, 7th June 2013