Discrepancies in the salaries declared by parliamentary secretaries described as being “minimal” could be down to figures being rounded up on the annual FS3 statement or to certain tax credits and regimes, government sources have told The Malta Independent.
Controversy erupted over recent days after certain sections of the media, not including this newsroom, along with PN MP Jason Azzopardi reported that the government had doubled the salaries of parliamentary secretaries, however this was denied by the government, which noted that the comparison was based on the fact that certain Parliamentary Secretaries only took their role mid-way through 2017, and were hence only paid for it for half of the year.
In a statement published on Saturday, the government said that politicians’ salaries had not increased since 2013. All declarations of assets tabled since 2008 and other records for the past ten years confirm this, the government said.
“In March 2008, a nationalist administration had increased cabinet salaries behind peoples’ backs. For this reason, in 2009 and 2010, ministers and parliamentary secretaries had declared income of more than €80,000. Declarations for subsequent years show a decrease because the government of the time had first reduced, and then removed these increases.”
The most recent declaration of assets however show some discrepancies between the incomes that certain parliamentary secretaries declared. While Parliamentary Secretaries Julia Farrugia Portelli, Clint Camilleri, Chris Agius, Roderick Galdes, and Anthony Agius Decelis all declared the same income - €60,722.38 – there were certain other discrepancies in the declarations of their colleagues. These discrepancies were described by some who were claiming that cabinet salaries had increased as further ‘proof’ of wrongdoing.
The most significant discrepancy was that of Parliamentary Secretary for EU Funds and Social Dialogue Aaron Farrugia, who declared an income of €53,358.04. Government sources however explained that this significant discrepancy is due to the fact that Farrugia is the only parliamentary secretary not using his own car as a second vehicle. Parliamentary Secretaries who do choose to use their own car as such are entitled to an annual €7,000 car-cash allowance.
In the case of the other parliamentary secretaries, the discrepancies were seen to be extremely minimal; either between €6 and €9 per month, or, at most, €25 per month.
An analysis of declarations of assets from past years shows that such discrepancies are not uncommon; in fact they are sometimes larger.
In this case, government sources said that the discrepancy is so comparatively small that it is difficult to pinpoint the actual source of the difference. It was noted that the difference could be down to a variety of things such as the rounding up of figures on an FS3 statement, or the eligibility of the said person for certain tax credits which are then reflected in the FS3 statement.
In a statement on Monday, the government said that the salary of a Parliamentary Secretary remains 105% of salary scale 1. The only increases were attributed to cost of living adjustments and a new collective agreement for the Public Sector. That equates to €47,780, and is then supplemented by an additional allowance €5,823.48 and a cash payment of €370.65. They are then eligible for a further €7,000 annual allowance if they choose to use their personal car as a second car over and above their official one.
In 2013, the Labour government kept salaries in line with pre-2008 levels, the government said. Allowances given to members of cabinet were also reduced, having been fixed at the level of 20% of salary scale 1. Compared to the 2008-2010 period, when cabinet members also received a parliamentary honorarium, Monday’s statement and published figures show that cabinet members earn some €22,000 less.