‘I Won’t Be Silenced On Tax Abuse’: Bernard Grech Responds To Labour Claims About Unpaid Taxes
Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech has insisted that he will continue to speak up about tax abuse committed by members of the Labour government and would not be silenced.
In a Facebook post uploaded today, Grech said that he would not be silenced by the Labour Party from speaking about the unprecedented levels of corruption and tax evasion that have taken place in recent years, pushing back against claims that he had no credibility to speak about the issue due to his own history of unpaid taxes.
In the run-up to his election as PN leader last year, Grech was revealed to have settled a bill of some €30,000 with the tax man in order to bring his affairs in order. Grech had disputed the amount owed but admitted that he should have been more careful.
The matter has been consistently raised by the Labour Party over the past year and half in an attempt to neutralise the Opposition leader’s criticism of financial and other crimes committed by those linked to the government and the Labour Party.
Just yesterday, the Labour Party responded to criticism by Grech following news that Labour MP Silvio Grixti had resigned after being interrogated by the police over the issuing of sick notes, by claiming that Grech had no credibility when speaking about tax evasion.
The news followed the revelation that another PL MP, Ian Castaldi Paris, owed the tax man around €300,000 in unpaid taxes over his unexplained wealth.
“The Labour Party claims I have no right to speak about tax evasion,” Grech said. “Not only did I pay all my dues, but I also paid what I was previously contesting, once I found out that the government was going out of its way to stop me from contesting for PN leader.”
He insisted that the reality was that the Labour Party did not like being reminded of people like Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri, and their dealings in Panama which would see them “evade tax and pocket €5,000 a day from corruption”.
“And Labour MP Ian Castaldi Paris, who was found to owe at least €300,000 but is likely to owe close to €1 million in unpaid taxes for unexplained wealth.
“Not to mention Robert Abela himself who – after earning his fortune from government direct orders – failed to declare his income to Parliament.
Grech said he would not stop speaking up about the “unprecedented levels of corruption and tax evasion that have become synonymous with the Labour government”.
Instead, he would continue to stand up for ordinary men and women, he said, who are currently facing disproportionate bureaucracy because of “Labour’s crimes”.
“While a Labour MP can get away with simply not contesting the next election, today we have people being charged with money laundering for minor tax issues that should be dealt with administratively,” Grech insisted.
“But to protect the big fish, Labour got Malta greylisted. And to keep protecting the big fish, they make a show of the little guy.”
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