Economic growth to result in government revenue increase – PM

The project increase in government revenue will be the result of economic growth, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today.

Addressing a meeting with the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, Muscat said the framework of next year's budget - due to be presented in parliament in the coming weeks - was still being discussed with the European Union.

He once again reassured that no increase in VAT would take place.

"The increase in government revenue we are projecting will be the result of economic growth," Muscat said, adding that the government's projections were "conservative", even more than those projected by credit rating agencies.

The PM went on to insist that critics will be "proven wrong": "Those who think we will not uphold our electoral promises in the budget will be surprised. Together with the social partners, we are focusing on priorities."

Muscat said the government had a five-year plan during which the electoral programme and innovative ideas for economic growth will be implemented.

He also said it was important that financial services continue to enjoy cross-border consensus by all political forces.

The Prime Minister lauded the positive working relationship between the government and the UHM, expressing satisfaction over the improved relations.

UHM, who spearheaded the Jobsplus policy, was also informed that the first part of the implementation of the policy would be included in Budget 2014.

"In reality, we found little on which to build our jobs policy and we had to start everything from scratch. This meant six months of intensive work to ensure proper coordination between the ministries for a coherent strategy."