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In your article on MaltaToday 10 April about new tax-free bags, your journalist Julian Manduca tried to make an issue in order to have something to write about.
He wrote that we manufacturers of plastic bags have found a way around the eco tax and described it as a ‘loophole.’
It is incorrect to say that the bag is 1cm smaller.
The bag is 40 percent less than the standard bag which used to be sold. This bag can only hold a Maltese large loaf. Its purpose is also to separate up to a kilo of fish, poultry or meat from the other groceries.
Even Ireland recognised this so much that tax does not apply to this size of carrier.
It is also incorrect to say that supermarkets pay 1c eco tax and passing on a charge of 2c or 3c to the consumer. When one adds the cost of the bag and adds 1c eco tax including VAT the cost is well over 2c.
Therefore the supermarkets are not profiting from this tax as Mr Manduca implied.
Although our company offers degradable bags we still had 80 percent decrease in sales of grocery bags since the tax was introduced.
Mr Manduca failed to identify where the true loophole exists.
All concerned are aware of this loophole and I hope that action will be taken as otherwise this industry is at a risk
Robert Abela
Managing Director
Traplas Ltd
Paola
Editor’s note: it is evident that Mr Abela writes about different plastic bags than those referred to in MaltaToday’s article. The bags referred to in MaltaToday are 25 cm wide and 43 cm long, and no eco-tax is being paid on these bags.
Julian Manduca never stated that supermarkets were profiting from tax, they are only passing on the eco-tax plus the cost of the bags.
We asked Mr Abela what loophole he was writing about but no reply was forthcoming.
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