I am not surprised that language schools are predicting a 20 per cent drop in the number of host families receiving students studying English in Malta.

Schools do not pay much for the services offered by these households, who give food and shelter to these students, not to mention the rising cost in water and electricity services.

The government is now going to enforce taxation laws on these families who are, on the whole, a part and parcel of this growing industry and are helping it to flourish. Without them, the language schools industry would not have survived so long.

Of course, the first Lm1,000 earned in gross will not be taxed and this could be interpreted as an incentive. But on the other hand one must understand that only those families who earn more than this realise that it is worthwhile to accommodate these foreign students. And now, after the first Lm1,000 earned, the rest is taxable.

I believe that the government should have been more lenient in this regard.

M. Cassar

Sliema