Author: SME Chamber

GRTU has presented a comprehensive set of proposals aimed at
boosting SMEs. In his foreword GRTU President Paul Abela stated that GRTU
continues to emphasise how much we need to keep pushing forward to ‘build
confidence and drive growth'. He insisted that enterprises need to be supported
better also through the improvement in their working environment.

The set of proposals presented are the result of
intensive consultation with our members and research of the best practices that
have proven very successful in other countries. GRTU, as the largest national
representative of SMEs, feels that many of the schemes mentioned are the key to
unlocking the full potential of SMEs and giving them aid where it really
matters. Amongst GRTU's proposals are the following:     

1. Relaunching the
Micro Invest Scheme.

2. Establishment
of a Business Angels Matching Service and a platform for crowd funding as well
as tapping into venture capital. All of these with some facilitation by Government
could render results that far outreach the initial investment.

3. Facilitate of
start-ups especially with regards access to finance, which is essentially the
biggest obstacle, through cash-injections and the financial start-up scheme
which involves covering the costs of renting a premises for a very short period
and the capped pay of the owner for one month. This would help because it would
give the minimum amount of time required to get some initial clients and start
building a name.

4. Increasing the
services offered by the business incubation and making it more dynamic.

5. Increasing the
number of routes to Malta and attracting tourists during the slower season.

6. Boosting the
crafts sector through the organisation of the Crafts Village, establishing a
national crafts policy, quality testing and certification system for locally
produced crafts, and reduction of VAT to 7% on such goods, incentives to
upgrade factories and workshops and helping the crafts sector export.

7. An E-Commerce
strategy including awareness raising on the potential of e-commerce and free
expert advice to enterprises on the subject on what systems they could use,
which would be accompanied by incentives to set up such systems.

8. Revision of the
eco taxation mechanism.

9. Schemes to
encourage investment in employment and training that are not time barred,
simpler in their application and reimbursed by a specified deadline.

10. Increasing
activities in the localities though permitting for change of use of empty
buildings to back-office, etc and accompanied by a tax-credit incentive,
incentives for the establishment of boutique hotels and B&Bs in the
localities as well as investment in the general infrastructure of the
localities through private public partnerships.

11. Granting of
title of emphyteusis in lieu of lease to private enterprises over Government
owned properties. GRTU also encourages Government to consider the sale of
properties that have been leased or granted under title of emphyteusis to the
private sector for a substantial number of years.

12. Incentivising
the involvement of the private sector in healthcare.

13. Scheme for the
restructuring of current industrial facilities. Some of these are currently in
very precarious situations.

14. Financial
measures that support innovative investments projects by SMEs, providing
research assistants with subsidised pays, an R&D Research and Development
Grant Scheme and a dedicated helpdesk.

15. Creation of
networks for internationalisation. This would help businesses expand into new
markets and increase their exports through increased collaboration and sharing
of contacts.

16. Increasing
competition in land based gaming and regulate illegal operations in this
sector. Introduction of High Stake control and limit the amounts played on the
Hot Numbers.

17. Fiscal schemes
to attract the buy-to-let sector through lower VAT rates and fixed income tax
rate for income generated from the rent of properties. GRTU also called for the
clarification in the regulation of the applicable licences required to lease a
property.

18. Encourage SMEs
to take a more proactive approach in the servicing of large scale renewable.

19. Immediate
Introduction of the Property Market Value Index.

20. Establishment
of an Early Warning Foundation where consultants offer free advice to
enterprises in difficulty on the improvement of their management skills and
helps them in their banking negotiations. The foundation would help companies
avoid bankruptcy and help those that have no other choice to extract themselves
from impossible situations and live to fight another day.

21. Upgrade of
current boat yards and tackle the shortage of marinas and pontoon berths.

22. Incentives for
upgrade and investment in commercial vehicles and Limited Mileage Incentive.

23. Overhaul of the
National Policy in respect to recovery of mixed waste and the setting up of a
Producer Responsibility Enforcement Committee to monitor the implementation and
enforcement of the Packaging Waste Directive, WEEE, Construction and Demolition
Waste, End of life Vehicles and Batteries.

24. Act on the
injustice whereby the percentage charged by banks or by the operator (in the
case of smart cards) for electronic payments is charged not only on the price
of the product but also on the VAT element.

25. A widespread scheme for Gozo enterprises to help them mitigate the
transport cost of transit between Malta and Gozo. Increase the efficiency of
the Gozo Channel and set up a scheme to mitigate the imbalance in employment
many Gozitan enterprises go through between the summer and the winter months.

26. Introduction of a night tariff and the decrease in rental fees on the
meters for commercial users.

27. Revisit the new strategy of online public procurement and set up a
helpdesk to help SMEs with the process. GRTU also proposes reducing the costs
for tendering.

28. Remove the need of audits for micro companies and exempt non-trading
companies from the audit requirement.

29. Severely beef up efforts to tackle VAT and Eco Tax evasion on goods
coming into Malta and sold for commercial purposes.

30. Specific course for females in entrepreneurship and a campaign
targeting women and their role in society and the economy.

31. Exposing young people with ideas to potential investors. Fostering
entrepreneurship amongst our young through courses and taking inspiring
entrepreneurs to schools to give their testimony.

32. Allow self-employed to receive their pension early where this is
possible without the need to remain idle for one year. On having access to
pension individuals should also be allowed to continue working without having
to pay for NI.

33. Foster deeper
relationships between business and academia and initiative a wave of
accreditation for skilled self-employed and manual workers. GRTU also calls for
the facilitation of transfer of skills and the establishment of Sector Skills
Councils (SSCs).

The European
Commission has launched a consultation inviting stakeholders to share their
views about crowdfunding: its potential benefits, risks, and the design of an
optimal policy framework to untap the potential of this new form of financing.

Commissioner
for Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier said: "Crowdfunding – this
alternative form of fundraising that is collective, participatory and
interactive – is becoming increasingly important. It has the potential to
bridge the financing gap many start-ups face and to stimulate entrepreneurship.
Considering the development of crowdfunding and the diversity of regulatory,
supervisory, fiscal and social frameworks for it across the EU, do we need a
single European framework to support both those who develop crowdfunding
platforms and to reduce the risks to those who make use of such platforms to
finance projects. That is what I am asking."

Whereas
many crowdfunding campaigns are local in nature, others would benefit from
easier access to financing within a single European market. But to make sure
crowdfunding is not just a momentary trend that fades away, but rather a
sustainable source of financing for new European projects, certain safeguards
are needed, in particular to ensure people's trust. The ultimate objective of
this consultation is to gather data about the needs of market participants and
to identify the areas in which there is a potential added value in EU action to
encourage the growth of this new industry, either through facilitative,
soft-law measures or legislative action.

The
consultation covers all forms of crowdfunding, ranging from donations and
rewards to financial investments. Everyone is invited to share their opinion
and fill in the on-line questionnaire, including citizens who might contribute
to crowdfunding campaigns and entrepreneurs who might launch such campaigns.
National authorities and crowdfunding platforms are also particularly
encouraged to reply.

The
consultation will run until 31 December 2013. It is available at: 

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/2013/crowdfunding/index_en.htm

Trade ministers
from the European Union's member states will next Friday (18 October) formally
give the European Commission a mandate to negotiate an investment agreement
with China.

The
mandate, which passed through the member states' working group on trade without
comment on 2 October, would help to put the EU's trade relationship with China
on a positive footing after months of disputes over Chinese producers' pricing
of solar panels and telecommunications equipment.

Last
month, Karel De Gucht, the European commissioner for trade, suggested that an
investment agreement would open the way to far deeper liberalisation. "Over
time, there will be a free-trade agreement between China and Europe. I am sure
about that," De Gucht said.

Accessing
more areas

The
negotiations would seek to open the many sectors of the Chinese economy that
European companies say are closed off to them, or to which access is possible
only with many conditions attached. The other track would look at the
protection of investments.

At
present, investment in both directions is relatively small, though growing.
Just 2.1% of the EU's foreign direct investment is in China, De Gucht told the
European Parliament on Tuesday (8 October).

An
investment agreement is seen as valuable for China principally as an assurance
that the EU's market will remain open in the long term.

Points
of concern

De Gucht
told Parliament that sustainable development and "a reference in support of
internationally recognised standards of corporate social responsibility" would
be among the points of particular concern for the EU.

The
Commission has not indicated when it would hope to complete talks on what would
be the first stand-alone investment agreement negotiated by the EU. It says
that an estimate is difficult, because it is aiming for ambitious results. The
Commission's usual ambition is to complete free-trade agreements, which now
include investment agreements, within two years.

Talks
could receive the blessing of China's leaders at the EU-China summit. De Gucht
said that the summit will be held on 21 November, though the date has not yet
been confirmed by China.

The EU
and China will hold their first high-level trade and economic dialogue in more
than two years on 24 October, a sign that both sides want to move beyond the
rancour that characterised the dispute over the dumping of Chinese solar
panels. The case was effectively settled in August, when Chinese producers
agreed to a minimum sales price.

The EU's
member states gave the Commission the power to negotiate terms for investment
protection in 2009, when they ratified the Lisbon treaty. Investment issues
will now be normal elements of the EU's free-trade talks.

Around
100 of the Commission's trade officials had expected to spend the week in talks
with US counterparts on a transatlantic free-trade deal. However, the week-long
second round of negotiations was called off late last Friday (4 October)
because of the shutdown of large parts of the US government caused by a dispute
over the US budget. Once the shutdown is over, the talks will resume as a
matter of priority, officials say.

Call for
Applications for participation in Brokerage Events and Pre-Submission
Consortium Meetings – 2013The objective of the scheme is to facilitate
participation in HORIZON 2020 through participation in brokerage events and
meetings held in preparation of project proposals. For more information visit: http://www.mcst.gov.mt/node/613

The deadline
for application forms is 31 October 2013

The Malta-EU
Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC) will be organising a consultation
session on ‘Proposal for a Council Directive Amending Directive 2011/16/EU as
regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in
the field of taxation'.   

This consultation
session will focus on a system of automatic exchange of information through
which Member States collect data on income earned in their territory by
non-resident individuals. They then automatically transmit this data to the
authorities where the individual resides, so that it can be taxed in line with
the Member State of residence's rules.

The consultation session
will be held on Friday, October 25th, 2013 at 2:30 p.m. at MEUSAC, 280,
Republic Street, Valletta.

The Malta-EU
Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC) together with the Ministry of Tourism
will be organising a consultation session on a Directive from the European
Commission entitled ‘Package travel
and assisted travel arrangements, amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004,
Directive 2011/83/EU and repealing Council Directive 90/314/EEC'.

The proposed
Directive will clarify and modernise the scope of travellers' protection when
purchasing combinations of travel services for the same trip or holiday by
bringing within its scope different forms of on-line packages and assisted
travel arrangements. The Proposal will also ensure that travellers are better
informed about the services they are buying and grant them clearer remedies if
something goes wrong.

The consultation session
will be held on Monday, October 14, 2013 at 2.00pm at Europe House, 254, St
Paul's, Street, Valletta. Proceedings will be held in Maltese

To register, please contact:

MCCAA Chairman
Marcel Pizzuto opened and  chaired the
Seminar while  a number of competition law
experts covered various substantive and procedural issues. The
harmful effect of cartels on consumer welfare, the consequences on cartelists
and the remedies for victims of cartels were explained in detail in a
presentation delivered by Sylvann Aquilina Zahra, Director General of the
Office for Competition.

Stefan
Vella and Marice Grech  provided an
overview on the concepts of dominance and abuse from a legal and economic
perspective. Their presentation focused on how the Office proceeds on alleged
abuse of dominance cases. They also explained how the definition of the market
and the competition assessment are undertaken.

Their
presentation also delved into examples of types of abuse and how these are
investigated.

In most
European jurisdictions, it is mandatory for certain transactions occurring in
Malta to be notified to the Office for Competition before they can go through.
The seminar also provided a brief overview of when, how and why companies may
be affected by the Control of Concentrations 
Regulations. Lisa Abela and Ms Grech discussed the national approach to
the Merger and Acquisition Regulations.

The
procedures before the Office were also discussed.  Dr Aquilina Zahra and Dr Abela explained
priority setting by the Office for Competition and the rights and obligations
of complainants.

Aloysius
Bianchi focused on the powers of the Office for Competition to investigate
effectively suspected competition law infringements, the outcome of the
investigation stage and when the Office can adopt infringement or commitment
decisions.

He also
explained the main features of the draft regulations concerning immunity from
fines and reduction of fines in cartel investigations.

Practical
issues relating to the application of competition law and anti-trust investigations
carried out by the Office for Competition were raised by Paul Micallef Grimaud.

Various
questions from the floor were raised most of which were addressed  and handled by the competition experts.

The
seminar was organised as part of an information campaign aimed at creating
greater awareness about the responsibilities of the MCCAA and the rights and
obligations of consumers and traders.

In her
closing speech Hon Helena Dalli, Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer
Protection and Civil Liberties referred to Competition as a driving force of a
market economy since it is that mechanism which instigates undertakings to
offer goods and services at the most competitive, and therefore favourable,
terms and conditions. Competition she said also encourages companies and all
economic operators to be efficient and to come up with more innovative products
and services. For the individual consumer, competition ensures lower prices,
better quality and wider choice. For the economy as a whole, competition boosts
and supports economic growth. Hon Dalli also emphasised on the importance of
competition law and an effective competition law enforcement policy to protect
competition so as to safeguard our economy and consumer welfare.

Anyone
wishing to have further information 
kindly contact The Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority
(MCCAA) on tel: 2395 2000 – web: www.mccaa.org.mt

Ufficjali
tal-GRTU attendew Seminar interessanti bit-tema "Is-Sahha u s-Sigurta' fuq
il-Post tax-Xoghol-Principli, Drittijiet u Obligi", f'Għawdex. Is-Seminar gie
organizzat mill-Awtorita għas-Saħħa u s-Sigurta' fuq il-post tax-Xogħol
bl-għajnuna tal-Aġenzija Ewropea, u b`kollaborazzjoni tal-Gozo Business
Chamber.

Huwa
essenzjali li f`kull post tax-xogħol, is-saħħa u s-sigurta' tingħata l-ewwel
importanza. Kemm min iħaddem kif ukoll il-ħaddiema għandhom jassiguraw li
jittieħdu dawk il-miżuri meħtieġa biex ikunu evitati kemm jista' jkun inċidenti
u mwiet waqt il-qadi ta` dmirijiethom.

Is-Seminar
infetaħ uffiċjalment mill-Ministru għas-Saħħa, l-Onor. Dr. Godfrey Farrugia li
fl-intervent tiegħu rrimarka li l-Awtorita' għas-Saħħa u s-Sigurta' fuq il-Post
tax-Xogħol hija stituzzjoni ta` mportanza nazzjonali, u li ilha tagħti servizz
utli għal dawn l-aħħar 12-il sena. Huwa kompla jgħid li s-seminar huwa xhieda
tal-ħidma li tagħmel l-Awotorita` flimkien mal-imsieħba soċjali, f`dan il-każ,
il-Gozo Business Chamber.  Il-Ministru
Farrugia rringrazzja wkoll lill-Aġenzija Ewropea tal-appoġġ li dejjem tat
lil-OHSA-Malta, xhieda li kif kienet aċċenat id-Direttur tal- Aġenzija Ewropea,
Dr. Christa Sedlatshek meta kienet ġiet Malta f'Jannar tal-2012,  fl-okkażżjoni tal-10 Annivesarju minn mindu
twaqfet l-Awtortia' Maltija, jeżisti rispett reċiproku bejn dawn iż-żewġ
entitajiet.

L-Onor
Deo Debattista, Chairperson tal-Awtorita, kompla billi qal li din l-attivita`
għalih tirrappreżenta sodisfazzjon doppju, sodisfazzjon li s-seminar qed ikun
organizzat għall-ewwel darba f'Għawdex u sodisfazzjon għaliex din hija l-ewwel
ativita' pubblika li kien qed jieħu sehem fiha min mindu ġie appuntat
Chairperson tal-Awtorita'.  L-Onor.
Debattista awgura lil dawk preżenti li s-seminar ikun ta` benefiċċju għalihom u
li jgħinhom jifhmu mhux biss l-obbligi legali, imma li huwa fl-aħjar interess
għall-intrapriżi li jirrapreżentaw, li jittieħdu dawk il-miżuri kollha li hemm
bżonn biex jiġu evitati kemm jista' jkun inċidenti u mwiet fuq il-postijiet tax-xogħol.

Matul
il-preżentazzjonijiet tal-ufficjali tal-Awtorita`, saret referenza dwar
l-importanza tal-"Evalwazzjoni tar-Riskju fuq ix-Xogħol" u r-"Rappreżentant
tas-Saħħa u s-Sigurta` tal-Ħaddiema" dwar saħħa u sigurta` fuq il-postijiet
tax-xogħol. Wieħed mill-uffiċjali tkellem dwar ir-relazzjoni li teżisti bejn
l-investimenti li jsiru minn min iħaddem favur is-saħħa u s-sigurta` fuq
il-post tax-xogħol, u l-benneffiċji li jirriżultaw għall-istess intrapriżi, kif
ukoll għall-ħaddiema nvoluti.  Is-Sur
Michael Grech, Presedent tal-Gozo Business Chamber qal li ċ-Chamber hija konxja
tal-importanza tat-tisħieh kontinwu tal-legislazzjoni li tirregola s-saħħa u
s-sugurta` fuq il-post tax-xogħol.  Huwa
ferm importanti li mhux biss min iħaddem ikun imfrumat sewwa dwar l-obbligi
biex jinżamm ambjent san fuq il-postijiet tax-xogħol, imma l-ħaddiema għandhom
ikunu mfurmati sewwa dwar id-drittijiet u l-obbligi tagħhom.  Il-Gozo Business Chamber tapreżża x-xogħol
siewi ta` l-OHSA li minn żmien għal-żmien torganizza żjajjar ta` rutina fuq
diversi postijiet tax-xogħol u b` hekk twassal il-messagg kemm lil min iħaddem
kif ukoll lil-impjegati. 

Għalaq
is-Seminar ir-rappreżentant tal-Ministeru għal Għawdex li f`isem l-Onor Anton
Refalo, enfasizza li l-ħarsien tas-saħħa u s-sigurta` fuq il-post tax-xogħol
jista' jevita numru ta` problemi li xi minn daqqiet jistgħu jkollhom
riperkussjonijiet kbar, kemm fuq l-operat tal-ażjendi, fuq il-ħaddiema, kif
ukoll fost il-membri tal-familji li jibqgħu jgorru l-konsegwenzi realtati ma`
korrimenti u mwiet għal ħajjithom kollha.

In its "Refit –
fit for growth" Communication published on the 2nd of October 2013, the
Commission has blocked the request of the social partners in hairdressing to
transform their agreement on health and safety into law. While not taking a
final decision, the Commission said that it does not intend to address the
issue until 2015 – at the end of a broader review on occupational health and
safety legislation.

The
decision comes after Commissioner Andor gave trade unions assurance on behalf
of President Barroso that the Commission will only decide "on the basis of a
comprehensive and impartial assessment of the agreement".

GRTU
welcomes this decision not to confirm the framework agreement because we are
against health and safety in the hairdressing sector, on the contrary we were
in favour of the objective of the framework agreement and in fact many of our
members already implemented most of what was stated in the framework agreement.
We however felt that the agreement lacked sensitivity to the realities of the
hairdressing sector and this also because it lacked a real representation of
the social partners representing hairdressers. GRTU does not feel that the
situation of health and safety with hairdressers can be solved with a simple
one size fits all solution. In addition to this some aspects related to the
requirement of light intensity and air circulations in the salons were vague
and needed to be further specified.

The
reality with the hairdressing sector, locally at least, is that the share of
unlicensed hairdressers operating is significant. Should a framework agreement
have been adopted the licensed hairdressers would be expected to abide by it
like they do with all other laws. The unlicensed ones would not have been
addressed in the slightest.

GRTU
therefore reiterates that we and our members are in favour of occupational
health and safety also because most of the time this means safeguarding the
health and safety of the business owners themselves, their family members and
that of their employees. Certain sectors however are already carrying the burden
of others enough, further additions are not appreciated.

L-GRTU iltaqghet mall-Onorevoli Roderick Galdes flimkien ma' Victor Agius, Chief of Staff u s-Sur George Carbone – Konsulent ghall-Gvern
fuq Agrikoltura fejn giet diskussa fid-dettal l-pozizzjoni ta' dawn
l-operaturi.        

L-GRTU taqbel mall-proposta
li l-Pitkalija ghandha bzonn tigi orgnizzata sabiex tkun tista twassal servizz
ahjar, pero, hi kemm xejn mhassba dwar l-pjan imsemmi fl-istess laqgha li
jghaqqad l-istakeholders kollha fi
progett wiehed.

Ricentament,
il-GRTU ghan-nom ta' dawn l-operaturi regghet talbet laqgha  ohra
mall-Onorevoli Galdes sabiex tigi diskussa l-espressjoni ta' interess u tinghata izjed
informazzjoni fuq il-mod ta' kif il-gvern ser jagixxi fil-konfront ta' din
l-espressjoni ta' interess specifikament relatata mall-importazzjoni tal-frott.

Il-GRTU qeghda titlob ukoll sabiex
jergghu jsiru laqghat ma l-istakeholders kollha qabel ma
tittiehed decizjoni finali.