Labour Party deputy leader Charles Mangion and MP candidate Karmenu Vella denied they had not declared the full income of Mirca Properties Ltd for income tax purposes. All the income that was not declared annually between 1995 and 2002 was in fact reported in full in the audited accounts presented to the Malta Financial Services Authority and in the income tax returns for the years 2003-04.

Everything was agreed with the Inland Revenue Department after years of talks about how the declarations should be made. The circumstances the company was in were fully explained to the department, Dr Mangion and Mr Vella said.

The result was an agreement about how income declarations would be made. That was why the income was not declared for previous years and was declared during 2003 and 2004, in agreement with the department. This could all be verified in the accounts presented to the MFSA, which are open to the public. It was clear there was no tax evasion.

All this would be proved in the court case they presented with urgency, Dr Mangion and Mr Vella said. The claims being made by the Nationalist Party were intended only to distract public opinion from the accusations being made against Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando about land at Mistra.