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Malta chamber of commerce calls for postponing eco tax

Xinhua, May 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Malta Chamber of Commerce said on Monday tourism operators would likely have to absorb the cost of an Environmental Contribution, similar to the city tax applied in a number of countries across Europe, unless it is postponed until Nov. 1.

In a statement, the Chamber of Commerce has insisted that the Environmental Contribution, which was announced by the government last October during the 2016 budget speech delivered by the Minister for Finance in the House of Representatives, need until Nov. 1 to be informed to overseas stakeholders and allow them to factor it into its winter season contracts.

The 50 cent nightly eco tax was meant to come into effect in April, but was postponed after a lack of agreement with operators, particularly with the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, on how its collection will be done.

"April 1 was impossible for this, and June 1 is no better; anything before November 1 will mean that operators will very likely have to absorb this tax themselves," the statement said.

In a statement issued on the same day by Malta's Ministry for Tourism, it said that Malta Chamber of Commerce requested a meeting to discuss this matter only two weeks ago, during which the subject was discussed in further detail.

The Maltese government "is committed to introduce this Environmental Contribution on the 1st of June 2016, but it will be closely monitoring the process to assist everyone involved and to offer any necessary assistance". Endit