Wednesday, 9th July 2008 - 14:09CET
Updated: Malta has cheapest diesel, power - Gatt
(Adds MLP reaction)
Malta has the cheapest diesel and electricity in Europe despite its dependence on oil, Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt told a press conference this afternoon.
Reacting to MLP and GRTU calls for the government to reduce duty on diesel imports, Dr Gatt pointed out at a press conference that the EU had set a minimum excise duty of 0.33 percent for 2009. That is the level at which Malta is already charging duty. Only Bulgaria charges less.
Furthermore, according to current VAT rules, the VAT on diesel cannot be different from other fuels.
Dr Gatt said that when everything was considered, diesel in Malta is the cheapest in Europe. Therefore, the argument that one should reduce diesel prices to maintain competitiveness did not hold water.
Turning to the cost of electricity, Dr Gatt pointed out that only 45 of 980 industrial concerns in Malta had invested in a Power Correction System, which paid itself within a short time through power savings.
He pointed out that according to the latest Eurostat figures, issued in December, 45 per cent of domestic users, who consume up to 2,500kwh of electricity, have the lowest bills in Europe. Those who use between 2,501kwh and 5000kwh receive bills which are the fourth lowest in Europe.
As for industrial concerns, 31 percent receive the sixth cheapest bills and 53 percent receive bills which match the EU average.
Turning to oil purchases and hedging, Dr Gatt said he was renewing an invitation he had made to Labour MP Joe Mizzi for the Labour Party to inspect the Enemalta accounts.
The Labour Party in a reaction to Dr Gatt’s comments said that the minister should came factored in salaries in Malta when he claimed that fuel and power prices here are the lowest in the EU.
The disposable income of the Maltese was 77 percent of the EU average, according to Eurostat figures, the MLP said.
EU studies also showed that the Maltese people spent the most in the EU on transport, and the impact of higher fuel prices was therefore heavy.
Furthermore, the minister’s own figures showed that five EU countries charged a lower rate of VAT on diesel than Malta. And the minimum level of excise duty which could be charged would not be introduced in the EU before late next year.
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Comments
We all speak of the price of diesel for our cars. Seriously this is not the issue. Everything is relative. The distances we travel by car are short. Issue is that higher prices of oil will in a few months definitely increase prices of anything we need.
The once that will suffer most are those in the med/low income bracket which is over half of the Maltese population. Same as Enemalta had no option but to pass on the increase in water and electricity to consumers; Food suppliers – distributoe - supermarkets - shipping companies – service providers - bus/mini busses – etc. will soon have no other option too.
And in the absence of adequate changes to the cost of living calculation – and adequate goverment enforced compensation; The standard of living of many will deteriorate.
This is the reality of the problem that all of us in Malta are facing. I see that Dr. Fenech Adami is taking some initiatives with Lybia. This is the only solution I can see in sight. If anyone can see more clearly I will be most happy to read further.
Other than this I feel that all this personal crap-chat is redundant.
Bzar fl-ghajnejn kienu jghidu.
You realy think I can't live on a Maltese min wage in Malta. I'm Denis Catania Not Bill Gates. Kid I wish I had your education. Not that the highly educated are imuned from this economy. Keep your head up you will be OK. When at times the economy throws you lemons make lemonade. Kid I want to open up to you. I just had to downsize my business from 25,000Sq ft warehouse to 2,500sq ft.But this is what I had to do. Due to the falling dollar. 90% of my was imported. Again I congratulate you for your education.
@dVella I congratulate you on your MBA. For my son to get an MBA it would cost about $120,000. How much did your MBA cost you? Or did the hard working Maltese pay for it?(nothing wrong with that) The one BUM married into my famil;y, is one of those guys who Mintoff let in the 70's. If you know what I mean.
@Charles Marsh If we get to vote, I doubt the Australians will vote blindly. They will vote who they feel is best. My mom in Malta will vote PN all the time. My father will vote MLP all the time.When I left Malta I was a PN supporeter. If I get to vote 5 yrs from now. I wouldn't even start making my mind up until about 4.5 yrs from now. That's the mentality we have abroad. Don't vote with your heart but with your head.
@dVella The bet is AVERAGE MALTESEpay not minimum. Hospitals are free, schools are free. Food I would have my mom teach my girlfriend how to cook good MALTESEmeals.
noMCdNObkNOkfc
If there where thousands that went to Australia in the 60's there is no one tho thank other then the MLP. For your reclocation the Department of Immigration in Malta is the baby of the MLP. If I am not mistaken the Minister of the MLP Administration that created the IMmigration Department, was one of those that you refferred to in your comments. Now there is a piece of History for you
Don't engage them on a one to one basis, many of them are planted on this blog just to stir the pot.
Instead, give them statistics - how much you paid per gallon a year ago versus how much you pay today.
In my Province, a year ago I used to pay something like 65 cents a litre for which I pay $1.39 today! That is over 100% increase. Both your country and mine produce oil and Canada has an advantage that it owns the tar sands - some 50 billion barrels worth, enough to supply the world for decades. It is however more expensive to process. It became only economically feasible once the price rose from $12.00 a barrel to $65.00.
Unfortunately the price of oil is determined by different factors one being that if the price is too cheap, investment in drilling and tar sands processing will cease.
nobody is starving here but I tell you middle class is simply evaporating. Do you know how much a normal hard working person get for a 40 hour week wages? less then €250.
Do you know how the price went up in the las months? Well you should ask your friends of family here. How can you compare us to the United States. You are living in another world there. And by the way how do you dare expect to vote here!! When you start living here and start experiencing live here then you should have the right to vote. Or else we should give the vote to the thousands of Maltese who were sent to Australia in the 60's! That want be a bad idea. labour will be in power for the next 100 years!!!
Your friend and her husband live comfortably thanks to people like myself and many others that pay taxes to support, as you put it, BUMS.
Thanks to my hard work and determination yes, I do have a good job and also my education. An MBA at the age of 23 is no easy feat! Thanks for being so caring.
I come to Malta often. So I do know. Keeping my Maltese passport is relevant. I have just as say as you.Soon I will be able to VOTE right here from the states. Even if I never came to Malta. I have living proof from friends and relatives. They work and live well. They know how to cook a good meal and maintain in trying times. Maybe McDonalds , KFC or Burger King isn't good for Malta.
Matter of fact I have a cousin, who's husband is a BUM and they still live OK, thanks to Mintoff and his relief(not a bad thing for people in need)
dVella do you work for a living? If your pay isn't enough, have you tried to better yourself?Or are you waiting for a hand out. Do you hate people who do well with their lives? Since you live there and I don't. Can you tell me the % of children that are starving to death? Should we send the American red cross? Come on guys stop making Malta seem like a 3rd world country. Appreciate what you have.
@aCamilleri what is it bet or no bet.
PS. do not give me the full history of your maltese ancestory, I read it all in the other posts!!! yawn yawn
Remember 1996-1998 when the price of oil was indeed $12.00 a barrel?
Did the electricity rates stay or go down?
Noooo they went sky high. Why? Fortunately then, the ability to respond to a news item on a daily was inexistent. I just wonder what people were thinking then.
Today the price of one barrel of oil is $140.00 with no sign of it ever going down. Yet you guys expect to be paying less. Yea - keep dreaming. It's not going to happen whether the government is green, blue or red.
You are taking aim at the wrong target. Why not go on OPEC's blog. What? They don't have one? I wonder why! They are probably reading all the nonsense on this page and they are inclined not to bother. Their time, they figure, is better used to calculate tomorrow's price fix which will probably hike the price further.
Your time (and mine) would be better spent in figuring what steps we should take to cut down unnecessary consumption. Try spending less time in front of a TV set or computer!
There are more then salaries to compare. Why don't you look at the overall taxation regime. Thank God, if it was up to Alfred Sant and the MLP we would have another tax to pay; remembe it Taxxa fuq kull bieb. The economy couldn't be that bad if you are boosting that one have no difficulty finding a second job.
Why don't you try and work oversees and earn a living and enjoy the quality of life that you have here.
I am willing this February or March to come to Malta for 2 years with 3 kids and a stay at home girlfriend. I will put enough money in the BOV to equal 104 average Maltese paychecks. If at the end of the two years, I still have at least 1 euro, you will give me back what I spend. I will open a second account with 104 average Maltese paychecks. If I run out of money before the 2 years are up. I will come back to the states and you can have the second account. it will be all yours.I'm not saying it will be easy , but it won't be hard. I won't be able to live like if I'm on vacation but I will make it. Maybe the Times of Malta would want to fund this experiment again if I don't have 1 Euro left at the end of 2yrs. The Times will get my second account and give it to charity. We will eat good, we will swim in the Med sea every week if not every day. I will eat out once in a while. No Hiltons or Pacceville. DealorNoDeal.
I do not know your story, but I bet anything you want that you would not stick living in Malta with a family of four, for more than 24 months. If you come here on holidays that does not mean anything. You said that 'Malta would not be considered poor in most places in the world', well agreed if you are comparing it with third world countries. You mentioned the UK. The UK have lost control of there own country if you ask me. UK is not good enough for a comparison. Look up to countries who are better and are found in mainland Europe.
I never left Malta, I was taken away at 8yrs old. Now 46, still hold my Maltese passport and will never give it up. Matter of fact I never even traded my passport for a foreign passport. I would let you decide on how you live yourselves, but you guys never tell the truth if your party of choice is not in office. When the PN are in, the MLP cries and vise versa. Please tell the truth.Maybe Mintoff should have made a better deal for us when he opened the borders for Libyans. he should have gotten a set price for oil for a 100yrs. Fenech don't be so cheap and buy yourself some clothes and I guarantee you you will have money left over for food. Just don't shop Dolce&Gabbana. Mur il Monti. The economy is bad allover. So it's time to go under your mattress use your head to hold up the mattress count out a few pounds and go enjoy yourself. You can't take it with you. But I know for a fact Mintoff brought relief to the Maltese people, exercise your right and use it. It's your money.
Whether you like it or not, Dennis Catania also contributed to the Maltese economy. His contribution was facilitated by the MLP by establishing the Department of Emigration in the 1950's.
I truly, in this time of doing things differenty and of open dialogue, cannot understand your arrogance. Or is it just talk and window dressing on behalf of the MLP.
and if we don't wear any clothes we will have more money to spend on other luxuries like foooood!
Thank you for your comment but why not let us, who have continued living here, decide for ourselves if we are better or worse off than people like you living in America.
Ps. We also have equal opportunities don't we?
Honestly, I don't know what the readers expect different from what he said. Does he know any different??
Does he care that "five EU countries charged a lower rate of VAT on diesel than Malta"?
Does he care that we are already paying the 0.33% which would be the minimum level of excise duty as from late 2009?
Who cares? Not AUSTIN for sure!!
Stop treating us like kindergarten children
`The Minister has put all the cards on the table`---and kept the Ace up hs sleeve.
@Gertrude Atkin....You must be living in gaga land.
This is one of the best jokes that comes out from this SMART minister.
It should be written down in gold lettring in the books of laughs by Prime Minsters and Ministers.
Yet they keep treating us like children and some gullible people believe them.
When they find it convenient they quote Mount Olympus and when they want to carry they disregard certain fundamental rights that come from the same high place.
Other countries have got different power providers and they do refund any excessive payments but in the little banana republic we have one big monopoly.
Carry on Minister let's hear another joke.
Bananas please!
Face reality ... the price of oil is what it is ... and will continue to spiral up. We cannot expect energy costs to be cheaper just because our wages are lower.
It therefore follows that the complaints that electricity prices are too high because Malta has a relatively weaker purchasing power are simply not justified. An artificial reduction in the price of fuel / electricity through heavier subsidies / less taxes by the Government will only result in an increase in other taxes, something which nobody desires.
Minister Gatt thinks that our wages are equivilent to his wage,which is another joke.Truly i was expecting him announcing the intoduction of some new energy policies that will introduce new types of alternative energy to oil and gas.
But again,minister Gatt is confirming that this government is more of the same.
I make great attempts to be objective in my comments and to try and make them constructive and informative. But really, one cannot just stand aside and tolerate downright lies. Mr. Farrugia talks of an "MLP wage freeze" and increased wages under NP governance. Has he forgotten - or maybe he wasn't born yet - who introduced the Minimum Wage; annual graduated cost-of-living increases; annual bonus payments; Children's Allowances? Has he forgotten all of these, or does he think that life in Malta began from 1987 onwards? Wild and nonsensical statements are a par for these comments, but please, let us stick to actual facts.
".... and wages have gone up since the PN was in government ..."since what?!...may be you should have said since 1987!...that over 20 years of pn government!...so do you consider that an achievement!
The minister should back his arguments with data and not made blank statements, but after all minister Gatt is well known for his diplomatic and elegant manners.
Hope Mr.Gatt is aware also that our wages are one of the lowest as well in Europe(especially) with the continuous increasing of the cost of living!!
@A.Farrugia
Either both of you don't dare bite the hand that feed you or you have more than one income. For how one can defend the indefensible. No one of you has answered our question re salaries compared to other european countries and price of fuel.
Compare our wages and pensions with those of other EU countries Mr Minister, not only diesel.
Or are we really living that comedy which used to be screened on the local television, "Yes Minister"?
Gone are the times when the Nationalists top brass used to tell the working class not to let their children be educated because they would lose their soul, Yes Minister.
Dear j farrugia, it is your party that is in Government and it is your party that inherited all the financial disasters that we now enjoy, with the Government having NO ROOM TO MANEUVER, so let me put it to you this way.
Ask Gonzi to solve the problems while not forgetting his promises. Ask Gonzi to explain why we now have over 60% of GDP in National Debt. Ask Gonzi why his budget deficit is going to be of biblical proportions. Ask Gonzi why he's doing nothing to alleviate the hardships.
Gonzi inherited his own doom and gloom in the economy.
Those who voted Labour are having a laugh! Enjoy!
THAT THE AVERAGE WAGE IN MALTA IS THE CHEEPEST IN THE INDUSTRIALISED ZONE OF EUROPE, IS.. IS.. IS.. AND IS A WELL KNOWN FACT THAT NOBODY CAN DENY...
ALSO... A WELL KNOWN FACT IS, THAT WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT GRADE / TYPE IS THE DIESEL WE USE, COMPARED TO OTHER EU COUNTRIES....
ANOTHER WELL KNOWN FACT IS THAT MINISTER GATT HAS ALREADY STATED THAT ,.. "..IL KBIR GHADU GEJ....!!!!!!! ", AND B..E..W..A..R..E.. YOU GUYS, AS COME SEPTEMBER 2008, W.& E. BILLS ARE GOING TO BE "..EVEN WORSE.."....!!!!!
OHHHHHH....... MYYYYYYYY...... GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD..............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From the prices I pay to refuel (in different countries) I think the Minister is either misinformed or relying on manipulated statistics to prove a point.
I suggest he stops the charade because it undermines his credibility.
In Nurnberg I pay less, for water, central heating and electricity, on gas I cannot comment, I do not use it, honest Austin.
The minister forgot to mention, that we also have the LOWEST salaries in western Europe + the highest tax regime in Europe. Even UK is cheaper then us, and now we are also aware that even Lidl in Europe is cheaper then Malta.
Minimum wage in UK is £12,480 a year, based on a £6.00 an hour x 40 hour week.
Where are those days when a certain Union asked for £m10.00 weekly increase.
What should we now expect, 50 Euros a week?
We have the cheapest policitcians, with state of the art manipulative capabilities.
I travel a lot in Eu due to my work, and as far as I can see prices in Malta for Petrol and Diesel are not the cheapest... actually they are at the top end.
....and SALARIES !!!!!
I would also like to have a study which outlines Malta's wages with those of Europe... we might have the lowest prices on diesel... but we also have wages that are lower than the rest of Europe...
Having this statement of cheapest diesel in isolation is not really conclusive at all...
cheapest diesel AND LOWEST SALARIES!!!!
I will eagerly wait for data with calculations how fuel and electricity compares to the our wages.
Or the data is not available to the minister??