Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi confirmed again at a news conference that he is against the Labour Party’s proposal of removing income tax from overtime earnings. While Dr Gonzi says that he wants to leave more money in people’s pockets, in fact he opposes measures that would automatically increase workers’ purchasing power, the MLP deputy leader and spokesperson for parliamentary, economic and financial affairs, Charles Mangion, said.

“The Labour Party’s proposal is clear as it is declared in Labour’s electoral manifesto for 2008: Overtime will continue to be paid according to the present system and actual collective agreements. With this, we shall include measures that make sure that the payment of overtime will not be subject to income tax,” he said

The measure removing income tax on overtime would benefit workers, because they end up with more money in their pockets to deal with the cost of living and the needs of their families, while having an incentive for them to work more.

“The PN continue with their orchestrated strategy of lies and manipulation. All this shows clearly that they do not deserve to lead our country, and that they are afraid of the people’s judgement that the more time passes, the people do want a change,” added Dr Mangion.