‘If Restaurants Earn Only €13,000 A Year, It Means They Need Help’ – PN MPs

The Nationalist Party said that data released by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana is a clear sign that restaurants require assistance.

Shadow Finance Minister Adrian Delia and Shadow Economy Minister Jerome Caruana Cilia spoke out after Caruana revealed that restaurants pay an average of only €4,500 a year in tax.

Caruana used this argument to dismiss calls by restaurant lobbyists to reduce their VAT rate from 18% to 7%.

However, Delia and Caruana Cilia argued that if restaurants really pay €4,500 a year in tax, it means they must earn an annual profit of only €13,000.

“The government admitted that an average Maltese restaurant doesn’t earn more than €13,000 a year, a clear signal that the sector is suffering and needs help, not more taxes or bureaucracy,” they said.

The PN MPs said history has shown that reducing tax leads to higher consumption levels, more tax conformity and more sustainable income.

“The PN is ready to offer solutions while the government keeps bringing up excuses,” they said.

“During a pre-budget meeting, Clyde Caruana – the mind behind ‘cosmopolitan Malta’ – told us that these proposals cannot be implemented.”

“The same minister who increased our public debt to a record €11 billion is now telling us that he doesn’t have enough money for these measures.”

Cover photo images: Adrian Delia and Jerome Caruana Cilia