GRTU agrees to eco-contribution

The Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises, GRTU, yesterday withdrew its demand that the government postpones the introduction of its eco-tax until January and agreed to the tax being introduced next month.

In a circular to GRTU members whose trading is to be subjected to this tax, chamber director general Vince Farrugia said that once the government had agreed that "existing stocks will not be charged and new imports/production will not be charged unless a first sales transaction is effected", the GRTU now considered that the date of implementation was no longer a major stumbling block.

He said the government intended to implement the tax as from September.

The circular said: "The government accepted that no eco-tax will be levied on existing stocks held by traders and producers, that the eco-tax will not be levied on all listed products once they leave Customs, that no eco-tax will be levied on all listed items at Customs on non-EU originating products and no eco-tax will be levied once non-EU-originating products leave Customs".

Mr Farrugia said the tax will be levied on listed products once the first VAT transaction is effected: (a) either when the trader or the producer sells to wholesalers or retailers or (b) when traders or producers sell directly to customers.

Mr Farrugia said the eco-tax is to be levied on products that are transacted out of the warehouse from traders or producers. Listed products already on sale at retailers, he said, were not affected.

He said the exact mechanism by which the tax was going to operate was still under discussion and a technical commission was to be set up to discuss the technical aspects of its implementation.

The General Workers' Union said it told Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi in a meeting yesterday it could not agree to the introduction of the tax as it did not reflect sound environmental planning.

The union said the new tax would add to the burdens being carried by workers and pensioners due to rises in the prices of fuel, bread and telephone, among others.

It also objected to consultations being held only with the business sector, saying this gave the impression that the government was effectively "ignoring" the interests of workers and pensioners. The eco-tax should have been absorbed by business operators and importers.

The GWU said it was ready to use all the means necessary to safeguard the interests of workers and pensioners.

The Union Haddiema Maghqudin also met the Prime Minister on the issue, with its message being that the burden of the eco-tax should not be borne totally by the consumer.

It insisted on the need for monitoring the impact of the new tax on purchasing power and the cost of living and said it may take action to protect workers and pensioners after gauging the impact.

It also wanted to reassure itself that the tax would truly serve as a disincentive against pollution and not simply as a revenue-raising measure.