Busuttil’s income tax cut pledge to small businesses estimated at €85 million

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil says scheme to reduce income tax paid by SMEs to 10% of their income will cost the country around €85 million a year

Simon Busuttil presents the PN's new policy document on retail outlets
Simon Busuttil presents the PN's new policy document on retail outlets

The Nationalist Party’s recent promise to slash income tax for small businesses to 10% of their income will come at an annual cost of around €85 million, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil revealed.

“It will be expensive, but the time has come to invest in a sector that contributes so much to the economy,” he said in his parliamentary adjournment

The scheme will apply on the first €50,000 in profit made by any small business – meaning that a business that declares €50,000 will only pay €5,000 in income tax, a measure that Busuttil said will save them around €12,500 a year.

IT will not apply to businesses that hire workers in precarious conditions, and to qualify, businesses will be obliged to introduce green measures and donate to charities or other NGOs.

The novel proposal was included in a policy document for the retail sector, which Busuttil warned has been left forgotten by the current government.

“There’s a false perception that every businessperson is a millionaire, but we are talking here about the small-time shopowners,” Busuttil said. “Shop owners know how to serve people, and they do so with pride. When you get served by a shopowner, you can feel that you are receving a genuine service.

Busuttil confirmed that the income tax proposal will not only apply to retailers but to all small businesses and self-employed people.

“We are talking about all small-time businessmen – from grocers to pharamcies to bars, restaurants, and stationaries to photographers who take your wedding photos to hairdressers to self-employed painters, builders, engineers and architects.”

“It will also apply to self-employed notaries, lawyers, physiotherapists, accountants, auditors, business consultants, marketing and media experts, and people who work in insurance and IT.”

The Opposition leader pledged that a future PN administration will introduce such a scheme, which he hailed as “radical”, in its first ever Budget.

“My hope is that this will be the first step towards similar initatives according to the economy’s requirements,” he said.