The government had yet to react to claims that people were being overcharged on their income tax, Nationalist MP Robert Arrigo told the Times of Malta.

Mr Arrigo, who also raised the issue in Parliament, said he had received information that people in the €19,501 to €35,000 income bracket were being overcharged on their income tax. He said the government was taxing people in that particularly income range at 26 per cent rather than 25 per cent.

Such overcharging “appears to be confirmed”, he said, adding that he expected a statement from the government.

He insisted that anyone so overcharged should be refunded.

Contacted by this newspaper, Mr Arrigo said he had yet to hear anything from the government.

Asked to back what he said in Parliament, Mr Arrigo said he had confirmed with a number of accountants that the government was charging more than 25 per cent in the particular income range he mentioned.

“I have yet to hear anything from the government side saying that my information is wrong,” he said, pointing out that the income bracket in question was one of the widest in Malta, meaning that a significant number of people were potentially affected.

Income tax in Malta ranges from 15 to 35 per cent. The 25 per cent bracket is the widest, ranging from an income of €14,501 to €60,000. Mr Arrigo noted that the overcharging was specifically in the €19,501 to €35,000 range.

The income tax brackets were revised by the present government after reductions had been promised by the previous administration. Income tax was cut for mid to high-income earners. Income tax in the bracket in question was reduced to 32 per cent in 2013, 29 per cent in 2014 to the present 25 per cent in 2015.

The Central Bank’s 2016-2018 economic predictions indicated that favourable economic conditions, income from the government’s passports scheme and other indirect tax measures had helped offset the impact of the income tax reductions on the government coffers.

jacob.borg@timesofmalta.com