Attempt to compare benchmarking to ex-officio

29 Nov. - 5 Dec. 2000

By a political corespondent

Alfred Sant has attempted to hijack the government’s benchmarking exercise in controlling tax evasion at the higher echelons of the income bracket by comparing it to the infamous ex officio assessments introduced by the MLP’s Dom Mintoff in the seventies.

Dr Sant’s comparison was described as devious by a senior government spokesman who told The Business Times that ex-officio were dished out indiscriminately before any investigations.

"The Tax Compliance Unit will only investigate in the most blatant of cases, where obvious revenue does not tally with declared revenue," he said.

"Lawyers with a client list running in the hundreds and declaring Lm6,000 a year will be attracting attention, as will be electricians who declare that they earn Lm3,000 a year.

The Labour leader is trying to sabotage the new TUC unit."

Dr Alfred Sant has opted for the strategy: "destroy the opponents credibility" by questioning the veracity of budgeting presentation and the financial statistics and by hurling mud at Finance minister John Dalli.

The dirty tricks campaign was once again fuelled by his attempts to describe Mr Dalli as Minister Daewoo – a claim he duly changed when queried in parliament.

And despite signs that the General Workers’ Union was seeking a rapprochement with the Finance minister, yesterday, Tony Coleiro the dockyard union leader and a key Dr Sant supporter was playing to the tune of his new mentor.

According to a statement Mr Coleiro called for an urgent meeting of the retail price index board. Mr Coleiro is on the RPI board by virtue of his GWU post and only after Dr Sant’s allegations in parliament has he opted to question the RPI.

Mr Coleiro, who in the summer of 1998 was infatuated with Dom Mintoff, the former labour leader for 50 years, has suddenly become a complete Alfred Sant supporter.

Yesterday, the Retail Price Index board met and shot down Dr Sant’s allegations in a polite statement. When contacted Mr Coleiro referred us to Mr Zarb for his comments who in turn said that a statement would be issued.

Dr Sant’s Monday reaction to the budget speech was prepared with little or no consultation with his two main deputy leaders George Vella and Joe Brincat.

But corridor meetings were held with Alfred Mifsud, the self appointed financial wizard who is the Super One boss and the brains behind the latest new local financial investment offer by UBS, the prestigious and secretive Swiss Bank.

And most of Dr Sant’s kitchen cabinet were left guessing on how to attack the budget by his statement at some party functions.

Alfred Sant who is considered to be a genius by his immediate entourage was responsible for the removal of VAT to a new form of CET which dropped taxation revenue by millions in 1996.

His decision to increase the austerity measures in the higher water and electricity tariffs as a result of a briefing report by the European Investment Bank led to his downfall in just under two years of governance.

Since then, political observers have noted his obsession at hitting out at anything engineered by the Nationalist government and as one former Labour government minister told The Business Times: "Dr Sant will do everything to undermine the Nationalists, inventing and manipulating is just one tactic.”

The Business Times, Network House, Vjal ir-Rihan San Gwann SGN 07
Tel: (356) 382741-3, 382745-6 | Fax: (356) 385075 | e-mail: [email protected]