Author: SME Chamber

Why did you become an entrepreneur? I inherited the business through my family How have you come to chose your line of business? I grew in it since it was in the family so I never really thought about it, the line I currently operate in was always a part of me

Where did you go on your last holiday?

Rome and I truly enjoyed their cuisine

What is your earliest memory?

During my school days

If you could chose to be someone famous who would you be?

Tumas Fenech because I think he was such a great business man

GRTU is fully in agreement with the European Commission on the need to work longer by creating a better balance between time spent in work and retirement, and the need for individuals to save more by developing complementary private retirement savings, however caution should be applied when revising the so-called Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORP) rules.

 

The proposals put forward by the European Commission's White Paper setting out an agenda for adequate, safe and sustainable pensions must avoid raising the cost of occupational pensions for employers and workers. Against a background of an ageing population and a difficult macroeconomic context, the roadmap outlines 20 measures to secure the financial sustainability and adequacy of pensions in the long run.

GRTU is concerned about the announced revision of the rules regulating and supervising IORP such as pension funds. By all means, the revision should not make these schemes more expensive and less attractive, while taking better into account the national IORP specificities. The focus should be on promoting appropriate incentives for employers and employees to invest in occupational pension schemes. Doing otherwise would discourage small businesses from offering supplementary pension schemes to their employees, making it increasingly difficult for them to attract the skilled workforce they need. The debate on the portability of pension rights should focus first and foremost on tax and fiscal obstacles.

The sustainability, adequacy and safety of pensions in Europe are clearly at risk due to an increasing old-age dependency ratio and pressure on public budgets. The White Paper is therefore a clear call on Member States to deliver structural reforms of pensions systems and of the labour market where necessary. While pension policy must remain the prerogative of Member States, the Commission's warning is more than reasonable at this stage.

We support the Commission's stance on the need for longer working lives to achieve a better balance between time spent in work and retirement. Raising the effective retirement age in line with longevity and avoiding early exits from the labour market is indispensable, as much as increasing the overall labour market participation. At the same time, individuals should be encouraged to save more. That is why the Commission's proposal to further develop complementary private retirement savings is an important step towards diffusing risks and securing future pension entitlements.

The Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) would like to remind all those employers, including self-employed persons, who have applied for funding under the Training Aid Framework, that they can claim the reimbursement of the expenses they incurred on training their employees once the training programme is completed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Through the Training Aid Framework, ETC is giving financial assistance to those companies that invest in the training of their workforce. The training can be a course at the University of Malta or at a foreign university.  This can even lead to a PhD.  Self-employed persons are also eligible. Each company is eligible for a maximum of €250,000 each year.  The subsidy varies according to the type of training and the size of the enterprise.  The Training Aid Framework is partially funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) of the European Union.

Employers awaiting payment of the training grant are urged to contact the ETC on 2220 1312 or by email at and they will be guided how to claim their funds.

 

On the 27th of January DG SANCO published the EU Consumer Market Monitoring Survey 2011. The survey was carried out by the market research company GfK Group in spring 2011 and covers both food and non-food within the goods markets and both regular services and one-off services.

 

The aim of the survey is to assess consumer experiences and the perceived conditions of 51 consumer markets, out of which 21 are classified as goods markets and 30 as service markets. The survey is intended to provide information for the Consumer Market Scoreboard and help the Commission to identify markets that are perceived and experienced as not delivering the desired outcomes for consumers with purchasing experience.

According to the survey the performance of both the goods markets and the services markets is nearly identical to the results in the 2010 survey; citizens perceive and experience the functioning of the services and goods markets similar to the previous year. In general, the services markets are performing less well than the goods markets. However, there are indications that the difference in the performance between the services and the goods markets is decreasing but this needs to be confirmed in future surveys.

The survey shows that just over half of the EU citizens find it easy to compare products or services. This is a slight increase compared to 2010 and is mainly due to an improved perception of comparability in the goods markets. It is concluded that further work is needed to make it easier for consumers to compare products or services in a simple, objective and reliable way.

The survey reveals that consumers' trust is still a problem as it obtains the lowest score of all components. However, the work on increasing consumers' trust is efficient as the scores on trust are slightly increasing.

According to the survey the majority of consumers do indicate to have received the services or products as they desired and just over 10% of consumers experience a problem with a service or product or a supplier/retailer. The goods markets are scoring better than the services markets as fewer problems are encountered in the goods markets. Of the consumers who do experience a problem, almost 20% do not complain although they feel that they have a legitimate reason to complain. The survey concludes that the most likely reason for consumers not to complain is due to the fact that the problem is not that important or of only small value.

The full report can be found at:

http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/strategy/docs/EC_Market_Monitoring_2011_en.pdf

Attakk bla sens mill-GWU fuq il-GRTU: Id-Direttur Generali tal-GRTU kategorikament jichad l-insinwazzjonijiet tas-Segretarju Generali tal-GWU – Fil-program "Affari Taghna" li ser jixxandar illejla fuq l-istazzjon ONE illum il-Gimgha 17 ta' Frar, is-Segretarju Generali tal-GWU Tony Zarb, jattakka bl-aktar mod insensat lid-Direttur Generali tal-GRTU Vince Farrugia, f'attentat car u bla sens li jcekken il-kredibilita' tal-GRTU u d-Direttur Generali ta' l-istess GRTU. Tony Zarb jinsinwa li d-Direttur Generali tal- GRTU f'laqgha tal-MCESD ghajjar lill-haddiema ‘grieden'. Id-Direttur Generali tal-GRTU jichad dan bl-aktar mod kategoriku.

 

Il-GRTU ssostni li is-Segretarju Generali tal-GWU qieghed, bla ebda etika ta' xejn jikwota bl-addocc minn dak li ntqal waqt diskussjoni fl-MCESD. Skond l-etika u skond ir-regolamenti ta' l-istess MCESD, diskussjonijiet u l-minuti tal-MCESD huma kunfidenzjali u dan biex kull diskussjoni tkun libera. Id-diskors li qieghed ikun ikwotat minn Tony Zarb hu diskors tad-Direttur Generali tal-GRTU li kien immirat kontra l-attitudni negattiva u zbaljata tal-GWU li tmaqdar biss u teqred il-hin kollu dwar l-avvanz ekonomiku u socjali li qieghed jaghmel pajjizna li skond il-GRTU qieghed isir bil-ghan car li jaqta' n-nifs lin-nies fin-negozju u jwerwer lill-konsumaturi milli jixtru u lis-self employed milli jinvestu. Id-Direttur Generali tal-GRTU sostna fl-MCESD, u ghadhu jsostni, f' isem il-GRTU li qieghda ssir hsara kbira lill-kummerc f'Malta u l-image ta' Malta barra minn Malta, meta l-GWU jaghmlu attakki bla sens u kontinwi fuq dak li qieghed jakwista pajjizna fil-qasam tax-xoghol u ta' l-avvanz ekonomiku fi zminijiet difficli ghaz-zona tal-Ewro u ghall-hafna pajjizi Ewropej akbar minn Malta.

Id-Direttur Generali tal-GRTU kritika ukoll lil GWU ghall-kampanja li qed taghmel biex tattira lis-self employed biex jidhlu fil-GWU dan wara li l-GWU kienet ilha ghexiren ta' snin tajjar lis-self employed Maltin bhala evasuri tat-taxxi u hallelin u tinstiga biex l-awtoritajiet jibghatulhom l-inspectors u jsallbuhom.

Kien f'dan il-kuntest li d-Direttur Generali tal-GRTU kien iebes fil-konfront tal-GWU u accenna li post fil-GRTU ghal min jevadi u jinnegozja b'mod illicidu ma hemmx u li dawn it-tip ta ‘grieden' jekk trid tehodhom il-GWU affari taghhom. Qatt u fl-ebda kuntest id-Direttur Generali tal-GRTU, jew xi wiehed mill-mexxejja tal-GRTU, ma jasal li b'xi mod ikun insulenti lejn il-haddiema. L-istabilimenti u l-intraprizi li jmexxu l-imsiehba tal-GRTU jiddependu, l-ewwel u qabel kollox mil-hila u inizjattiva' tas-sidien li jmexxuhom, imma jridu ta' kuljum mil-abilita' u l-entuzjazzmu tal-haddiema taghhom. Il-GRTU temmen li huwa bl-isforz ta' kulhadd, sidien, haddiema u Gvern, li l-pajjizna nistghu ngibuh il-quddiem.

Ghalhekk li l-GRTU u d-Direttur Generali Vince Farrugia jichdu l-insilwazzjoni li qieghed jaghmel is-Segretarju Generali tal-GWU. Id-Direttur Generali tal-GRTU illum fetah proceduri fil-Qorti biex l-abbuz min naha tas-Segretarju Generali tal-GWU jigi mrazzan u fil-granet li gejjin ser jiehu passi biex il-verita' kollha tinstema' fil Qorti fi proceduri ta' libel.

GRTU has written to the Malta Resources Authority, the Planning & Priorities Coordination Division and the Enemalta following a meeting held at GRTU on Friday 27^th January, where the renewable energy section within GRTU met to discuss issues which are concerning our members. In the letter GRTU asked to meet the authorities concerned to discuss points that require their attention.

 

The most important issues that arose and will be discussed where:

Setting up of guidelines so as to make renewable energy more attractive for Maltese citizens to invest in such technologies

Establishing timeframes for rebates, installing electricity meters and feed in tariffs

Creating a one-stop-shop so as to eliminate a lot of problems to both consumers and retailers

Installation periods for photovoltaic schemes

Commencing of discussion so as to stabilize a new PV Grant Scheme – It was agreed that new scheme shouldbe introduced even if all installations have not yet been completed.

Possible available funding forthe newgrant scheme

Augmentation of feed in tariff according to how much electricity is generated and produced

Recognizing domestic accounts as residential

GRTU should be meeting the authorities in the coming weeks to discuss.

 

GRTU wrote to Valletta mayor Alexei Dingli to draw his attention once again to a situation that has persisted for too long and keeps repeating itself. GRTU clearly told the mayor that it is totally unacceptable that when there is an event or special occasion in Valletta permissions are given out to operators that do not hold a permanent license to operate in Valletta in direct competition with licence holders that have made a significant investment in Valletta, pay salaries to their employees with fixed employment and are tax complaint.

 

When there are events or special occasions, instead of giving the opportunity to Valletta shop owners to make up for the very hard days they are currently experiencing, permissions are given to competitors operating from shabby stalls, have not invested a cent in the city of Valletta, operate under very poor standards, employ precarious workers and are in complete disregard of taxation.

The stalls are placed in front of their premises even though they are in direct competition with them, sometimes their own suppliers. We remind you that there exists a law on sale from hawkers and similar temporary operators.

The only excuse given by the Valletta Local Council is that the operators given permission are those sponsoring events and are therefore given freedom to subcontract to 3^rd parties, this is not always the case and in any case this is no excuse. The question is beyond any form of control so much so that "foreign" operators are opening up in the streets of Valletta in disrespect of any taxation laws.

GRTU urged the mayor to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation and desist from further creating this scenario.

GRTU also informed Ministers Jason Azzopardi, Mario De Marco and Karm Mifsud Bonnici of this communication and immediately received the backing of honorable Azzopardi stating that he fully endorsed the position expressed by the GRTU.

Green MT, the National Authorised Waste Packaging Compliance Scheme and GRTU subsidiary has embarked on an education campaign in all schools within those Local Councils that are in agreement with Green MT.

 

Eco Councillors are visiting each individual School and discussing with Heads and Assistant Heads and Eko Skola representatives how to improve recovery of separated waste from Schools and the infrastructure required together with other initiatives that the school and the Scheme decide to set up together.

During the last month Eco Councillors visited Schools in Mosta, Dingli, Marsascala and also St Lucia where talked directly to the students. Students were made aware on all aspects of separating waste. Students were further instigated to think about future visions and concepts including a ‘zero waste‘ ideology. Eco Councillors answered to questions placed by a number of students. During these talks students were also given notepads made from recycled paper.

Green MT has also met Wasteserv and discussed the possibility of visits by students to the Materials Recovery Facility, where an agreement was reached that such visits will be effected on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Green MT aims to further develop its education campaign within Schools through a number of other initiatives which will include a mascot and also a number of jingles which will be utilised shortly and in tandem with an advertising campaign aimed to increase recovery of recyclables in Malta and Gozo.

The European Economic and Social Committee study group on the EU Communication on Double Taxation in the Single Market approved the report submitted by Vince Farrugia, Maltese enterprise owners representative at the EESC, as Rapporteur responsible for the EESC Opinion on double taxation.

 

In the Opinion Mr Farrugia presented he argued that double taxation is a serious obstacle to cross-border activity impeding the effective functioning of the Single Market with negative economic implications on investment and employment. Double taxation discourages investment and jeopardises competitiveness thus impinging negatively on economic growth and the attainment of the EU2020 targets. The EESC is therefore in favour of initiatives towards the removal of double taxation as outlined in the communication by the Commission by promoting the efficient interfacing of different tax regimes.

Vince Farrugia also made the following recommendations:

· The removal of double taxation should be undertaken in a manner which is proportional to the objectives being sought and respects the fiscal sovereignty of individual Member States.

· Issues which arise from double taxation have a disproportionately higher impact on individuals and small and medium sized firms which typically do not have the resources to deal with such problems. As a result proposals aimed at dealing with double taxation need to be coherent with measures which deal with double taxation for citizens and encompass solutions for individuals and SMEs.

· The EU Forum on Double Taxation forum is considered as a first step towards the establishment of an EU Commission observatory. The Forum would also include representation from social and organised civil society.

· The establishment of a code of conduct which would allow for a common understanding and application of tax concepts between different Member States, so as to avoid situations of double taxation and reduce instances where Double Tax Conventions (DTC) are not effective.

· Efforts should be aimed at ensuring limited need for arbitration.

· Studying the full scale of the double non-taxation phenomenon and its economic and social implications, as well as those that would potentially occur through measures aiming at its removal.

· All proposals should be assessed by means of thorough social and economic assessments and that such assessments should present impacts on each Member State.

This is the second report submitted by Vince Farrugia on issues related to tax burdens affecting EU citizens and EU businesses. The first Farrugia report endorsed by the EESC Plenary session as an EESC Opinion dealt with the EU Communication on Removing Cross Border tax obstacles for EU citizens (COM (2010) 769), the third report on taxation related issues which will be presented shortly to the EESC, for which Mr Farrugia is Rapporteur, is on two Commission documents, the Commission Communication on Tackling cross-border inheritance tax obstacles within the EU and the Commission Recommendation on is on the relief for double taxation of inheritances.