Government’s economic policies are causing hardship to low income earners, the Nationalist Party said in a statement.
The middle class and people who earn least are facing a double clamp of stagnant income on the one hand and inflation on the other. This is the picture that emerges when one looks at data published by the National Office of Statistics (NSO) and Eurostat.
According to the latest available Eurostat statistics, at 1.1%, Malta had one of the lowest increases in salaries. The European Union average increase was of 2.9%. Statistics on inflation published by the NSO last week show that food prices in Malta continued to shoot up.
During August, food prices went up by 3.75%. While hardly impacting high income earners, this increase in food prices will pile additional pressure on low income earners who are struggling to make ends meet. This increase in prices will affect mostly pensioners and single income earners who recently were also at the receiving end on higher fuel prices and a hike in price of milk.
Prime Minister Muscat believes that the only economic model that works for Malta is his model which is centred around inward migration. But it is precisely this economic model that is leaving victims in its wake, not least those who cannot keep up with the cost of living, the PN said.
The Nationalist Party believes that this is not the way our country should be heading. There is a different, more balanced way of managing the country’s economy. In its Pre-Budget Document, the Nationalist Party put forward proposals to help alleviate the plight of low income earners. One of these proposals is that of capping income tax on part-timework and overtime at10%.