A second round of COVID-19 vouchers, an extension to the wage supplement and a reduction of the 14-day mandatory quarantine period are among a raft of budget proposals suggested by the Chamber of Commerce.
The calls were among 130 budget proposals made on Wednesday ahead of the Budget on Monday next week. The chamber is also calling for increased rent assistance to commercial tenants and reduced utility and fuel costs.
According to the chamber, next year’s budget is more critical than any other recent budget exercises, and it should aim not only for an immediate economic recovery, but also a long-term and sustainable one.
One way to do this is to extend the wage subsidy scheme for as long as possible but also linking it to business re-engineering or employee up-skilling, especially when it comes to businesses who will not see a recovery any time soon, Marisa Xuereb, the chamber’s deputy president said.
Xuereb said the chamber was also calling on the government to optimise COVID-19 testing and quarantine leave for employees who could not work from home.
“We need to ensure that we isolate people as quickly as possible but we also need to reconsider the 14-day quarantine, especially since the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is saying that those who have come in contact with positive cases but test negative on the tenth day, can be released from quarantine.”
Xuereb said the chamber is also calling for the stimulation of domestic demand, which includes the reissuing of vouchers.
However, the allocation of how much can be spent where, should not be pre-set. It should be up to the purchaser to decide how much, of the total, they would spend on accommodation or retail.
The deputy president also referred to the need to oil the economy through liquidity.
The chamber, she said, is calling on the government to allow companies to carry back tax losses made in 2020 to neutralise their taxes due for 2019, while at the same time affording a liquidity relief to limit the risk of further insolvencies.
Similar liquidity relief can be provided by offsetting tax amounts owed by such companies with any dues receivable from the government in tax rebates or payment for contracts.
'Keep schools open'
Her colleague and head of policy, Andre Fenech meanwhile referred to the chamber’s call on the government to keep schools open.
This was not a call from a “selfish point of view” stemming from the needs of the economy, he said, adding that the chamber was rather concerned about students continuously missing out on active participation in school life.
Slower or absent educational development will ultimately impact their skills and career in the long term.
Keeping schools open also called for more flexibility at work, he said. The chamber is hoping to see measures that would reduce traffic congestion, and this could, among others, call for further teleworking and night-time deliveries.
Chamber president David Xuereb said the chamber did not believe that 100 per cent teleworking was a solution. Where possible, hybrid teleworking, was more recommendable.
Employers, he added, should be able to measure the productivity of their employees who are working from home not just through their output, but also through key performance indicators, he said.
Asked about the business re-engineering proposal, Xuereb said that the money forked out through the wage supplement needed to be invested wisely.
Employers should be incentivised to use the current time - when activities are slower and several employees are on reduced hours - to rethink their business model, focusing on what kind of resources and equipment their business might need, or whether their enterprise should take a completely new route.
The government funds should support businesses who think outside the box, he said.
Rebuilding and safeguarding Malta’s reputation
The chamber's document for the upcoming budget also calls on the government to support the development of good governance structures in the private sector by investing and incentivising the recruitment of a Good Governance Officer to support and advise businesses.
Moreover, it is important to increase resources in all government entities responsible for the transparency (including public procurement), enforcement of laws, investigation and prosecution of illicit activities that undermine ethical business and damage Malta’s reputation.
Other proposals
-Wage Subsidy Scheme until the vaccine is administered
-Tax deductions for parents purchasing IT equipment for children’s education
-Supply all mainstream students with laptops and wifi
-Remove VAT on the development of LEED Platinum Certified Buildings and on the Electrification of Transport
-Any quarantine leave imposed by the Superintendent of Public Health should be addressed as sick leave and paid by the government
-Absenteeism related to schooling - the current scheme should be amended to incentivise parents to work at reduced hours
-Facilitate the employment and renewal of Third Country Nationals's work permit to support companies that are facing labour shortages
-Replace all public bins with pedal bins, introduce well-resourced self-cleaning public toilets, and contactless vending machines in public spaces with masks and sanitisers
-Set up a fund for digital contactless solutions for projects aimed at developing technology complementing human interactions
-One-time payment to households in lieu of Cost of Living Adjustment
-VAT reduction for hospitality and tourism including yachting-related services from 18% to 7%
-No single-use plastics by January 2022