Jon Mallia Calls For Electricity Subsidy Capping: ‘Taxpayers Shouldn’t Pay For Lavish Lifestyles’
Podcaster Jon Mallia has urged the government to impose household caps on electricity subsidies, arguing it is unfair for taxpayers to foot the bill for wealthy people to enjoy lavish lifestyles.
“As it stands, our taxes are subsidising all energy costs, which is a massive problem and a dangerous policy that will continue destroying the people at the bottom,” Mallia said in a Facebook post.
“Rather than subsidies being deployed carefully to ensure that necessary items can remain affordable in the long term, several thousands of euro are being splurged everyday so that some people can leave a bunch of ACs on in their villas.”
“If you can afford to live like a king, then that’s all well and good and I wish you the very best. However, extravaganzas should be paid by those who can afford to enjoy them and not by the rest of the people who are already being squeezed.”
“In the current global context, everything that is non-essential and that requires energy is not necessary. I would appreciate if you would stop burning my taxes during a global crisis.”
In another post, Mallia said that every household should be allocated a “substantial amount” of subsidised energy and that households which exceed the cap should be made to pay the excess usage at market rates.
“We have long been pontificating about global warming but now is the chance to limit the impact of energy consumption on the environment because we don’t have another option,” he said. “We must change our habits because we won’t get there with empty rhetoric and we must force the government to become less dependent on oil and gas.”
“This crisis, just like other crises, presents several opportunities.”
Maltese consumers have been shielded from the effect of soaring global energy prices due to the government’s decision to absorb price increases and keep electricity and fuel prices stable.
Although the government hasn’t published official details on how much money it is spending, Times of Malta recently reported that around €250 million in public funds could be spent by the end of the year, with the bill for 2023 estimated at anywhere between €300 and €400 million.
This policy has forced the government to embark on a cost-cutting exercise, which has seen the University of Malta’s budget slashed by €1.1 million.
The Energy Ministry also recently confirmed with MaltaToday that it has issued new air-conditioning temperature limits and public building lighting rules to contain energy costs.
Decorative façade lighting on public buildings and monuments will be switched off late at night, while public sector entities, with the exception of hospitals, have been ordered to keep air conditioning at a minimum of 24°C in cooling mode and a maximum of 21°C in heating mode.
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