The Nationalist Party was always the party of the self-employed and the small and medium trader, the Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Leader of the PN, Tonio Borg, told the annual general meeting of the party’s Secretariat for Small and Medium Sized Businesses.

The government had reduced bureaucracy and income tax for all, and had now substantially cut the cost of licences. For instance a 200 square metre shop which paid Lm5 (EUR11.65) daily had its licence reduced from Lm91.25 (EUR212.56) to Lm30 (EUR69.88), and those paying a rent of Lm292.10 (EUR680.41) were today paying Lm30 (EUR69.88). And in the budget for this year, there was a further cut of 25 per cent for Gozitans.

The theme of the last budget was the family because the budget helped all families. Dr Borg referred to the substantial cuts in income tax rates and also to initiatives in the trade sector in both this year’s budget and the budget for next year. Last year, for instance, the government announced that the wife or the husband could work in their business and earn the right to a pension, with the business declaring their earnings for income tax purposes.