Vince Farrugia, president of the General Retailers and Traders Union (GRTU), during the meeting called by the GRTU for the host families in Naxxar, assured the said families more than once that after several meetings the GRTU had with various ministers and the Prime Minister, that there would be no witch hunting as regards tax arrears on income generated from hosting students.

There is nothing further from the truth, according to the last statement made by Tonio Fenech published in The Times of 11 August where he clearly stated that tax will have to be paid on arrears plus National Insurance contributions for persons on a pension under the age of 65.

Now, after getting host families to join the GRTU with promises made during the meeting, Marcel Mizzi, vice-president of the GRTU has came up with a lot of excuses (The Times, 18 August) why no agreement has yet been reached with the government.

This is not fair on the families. Has the GRTU used the families to its advantage and to their detriment? How reliable is the GRTU in its statements? How did the GRTU acquire the address of the families? So much for the data protection! What is going on?

What is really needed is a serious association with the interests of the host families as its sole aim.

Joseph Micallef

ST PAUL’S BAY