Finance Minister of Malta Edward Scicluna on October 17 confirmed a plan to raise an extra €50 million in revenue from indirect taxes in the next Budget.

The minister, who pencilled in the Budget for November 4, said the increase was on the cards but “nothing is cast in stone”. Asked how this squared up with Labour’s pre-election pledge not to raise taxes, Prof. Scicluna argued that the Government could not lower revenue (as a result in the income tax cuts announced last year) when cutting the deficit.