“I don’t have anything like that in mind,” he confirmed. “We’ll encourage those who earn more, those who have the capital, to invest that capital to create additional economic wealth. If there’s the creation of jobs and employment opportunities, that will surely help in furthering economic growth.”

“If there’s capital, the best way to go about it is for the capital to find its way into the economy again in terms of investment, because that will help restore economic growth. If it’s taxed by government, I’m not sure government can compete against private business in terms of employment creation.”

“Let’s leave the private sector to create jobs. Welfare support must be taken care of by government, but ultimately we should know where the government stops and the private sector starts.”

Questioned on how socialist his economic viewpoint is, Caruana said it’s all a matter of perceptive.

“At the end of the day, what matters is that workers have enough money to live decently and comfortably. Some think that can be done by taxing those who have money but others like me think its best to leave the private sector to create wealth.”

“The government will take its fair share of that wealth through taxation and ultimately it will help workers through transfer payment. That’s been done throughout the past seven years, I contributed to it in terms of in-work benefits and childcare, I believed it worked well and I don’t see why that shouldn’t be the way things should be done moving forward.”

As for a universal basic income, global debate on which has been re-ignited by the COVID-19 crisis, Caruana said he’s not convinced its the way to go as its cost to the public purse will require the imposition of new taxes.

“As a result of COVID-19, something like this will be off the table because it requires a substantial amount of resources, and right now they’re needed to keep businesses afloat,” he said. 

“If businesses go down then thousands of families will suffer the consequences. The priority is to keep everything and everyone going because thousands of livelihoods depend on the decisions we make on a daily basis.”

“Right now isn’t the moment to discuss increases in taxation. Businesses and the economy need more liquidity and more help to make sure they survive from the COVID-19 impact.”

As for a four-day week, which is commonplace in the Netherlands and was recently proposed by Finland, Caruana warned this can only happen if Malta’s labour force boosts its skills. 

“We cannot go for a four-day week or a week with fewer hours unless we’re more productive. At the end of the day, there’s no such thing at a free lunch.”

“If we want to get a week as short as the one in the Netherlands, where on average they work for 28 hours, [we must realise] they can do that because their skills allow them to.”

“If we want to aspire to that standard of living, we can do that but first we need the necessary skills and know-how. That’s something positive but we must work hard in order to get there.” 

What do you make of Clyde Caruana’s economic argument?