Muscat says discussions with Commission on IIP were ‘positive’

In a political activity held in Zebbug this morning, the prime minister spoke about various issues, amongst which were the citizenship programme, the education sector and the VAT refund to be given on vehicle registration.

 The IIP

Muscat said that the first meetings with the Commission, held this week, to discuss the Individual Investor Programme were positive as it served as a platform for a two-way communication between the Commission and the government. In this way, he said, both sides of the argument could be understood.

Muscat said that Malta had the potential to become a prime destination for wealthy investors, putting it in the same category as countries like Dubai and Singapore. He said that the IIP scheme was an example of reaching this aim.

Muscat admitted that the marketing of the scheme could have been planned better, but critisized the Opposition's relentless stance against the scheme.

"The attitude which they adopted, in which they turned against their own country, will backfire," he said, adding that many people were now understanding and accepting the economic benefits which Malta will gain from such a scheme.

The prime minister insisted that government had consulted fellow EU member states prior to announcing the scheme, but questioned why the Commission was singling out Malta introducing such a scheme, which was similar to those of other countries.

Muscat said that, whilst he understood that there may be certain reservations, he said that being part of the European Union did not necessarily mean having to 'give in' to their (the Commission's) requests.

The refund of VAT on vehicle registration

Muscat said that this Labour government was delivering on all the electoral promises it had made - promises which, he said, the Nationalist Party had ridiculed.

"When we promised to deliver, we were not inventing... and time is proving us right," he said.

Muscat said that one such example was the refund of VAT on vehicle registration tax which would see 40,000 car owners reimbursed money due to them.

He said that these refunds amounted to €31 million and would be paid over a seven-year period.

Education

Citing a statistic which said that there were around 350 children each year who did not apply for their SEC examinations, Muscat said that the education system which the previous government left in place was doing more harm than good.

"What is even more worrying is that around half of these have not even attended school over the last two years," he claimed.

Muscat said that this government was providing no less than three million Euros of EU funds in order to help post-graduate students read for a Masters course.

Muscat also declared that the government will, in the near future, meet with teachers of every government school to discuss a transition to a system of co-ed

"This happens in every European country and even locally in various private schools. It is certainly not an abnormality, and we want to follow suit," he said.

Muscat closed his speech by declaring that this was a government that was ambitious. It was one, he said, that recognised its mistakes but took measures to correct them.

It was a government which was committed to accelerating economic growth and one which believed in civil rights.