Category: Press Releases

The Malta Chamber of SMEs believes that the implementation phase of these proposals is key in order to achieve the desired results

The immense bureaucratic burden and impossible situations businesses have been facing in relation to access to banking services and compliance have only become more serious and counterproductive over the last years.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs has been highlighting its concern on the situation and how this was harming businesses and our economy. The SME Chamber was never against putting in place the required checks and balances. Over-regulation and burdening SMEs with the inability to work and waste of precious resources was never the answer, or a solution to any problem our country was facing. Access to banking services and the issue of the repetition of compliance exercises were main budget proposals from the side of the Malta Chamber of SMEs and we are therefore pleased to see them being taken up.

Apart from this, the SME Chamber also asked the government to intervene to protect corporate bank clients from the abuse of dominant position, from unfair treatment and the imposition of unjustified costs and charges. The SME Chamber still believes that while the cost of banking services is increasing exponentially, the quality of the service is not only not being elevated at par but continues going down in quality. Therefore, while paying much more for basic banking functions, SMEs are many times greatly unhappy with the level of service being given by the major banks. Regulatory surveillance and protection in this area is evidently missing.

The commitment made yesterday by the Prime Minister to give access to banking services to all businesses and centralise all compliance efforts across the country are greatly welcome. The Malta Chamber of SMEs also notes the positive remarks of the Leader of the Opposition in this regard. The Prime Minister’s commitment initiates a principle and a very important step to address Malta’s failures in the banking sector and give businesses guaranteed banking support.

The Prime Minister is also confirming that the compliance burden on businesses will not be removed but will be alleviated, as it should be. The Malta Chamber of SMEs believes that the implementation phase of these proposals is key in order to achieve the desired results.

The SME Chamber will continue supporting the business community and those implementing these important steps throughout this phase and will also continue working to have a healthy banking sector in Malta.

SME CHAMBER PROPOSES TO REDUCE THE VAT RATE FROM 18% TO 15.5%

A study conducted by the Malta Chamber of SMEs among 250 business owners  shows that 44% of SMEs in Malta expected their business to fare better this year.

The survey was carried out between the 10th and 27th of January amongst business owners. 17% replied that 2022 will be worse than 2021 while 39% replied that 2022 will be the same as 2021.

The press conference was addressed by SME Chamber Vice-President Mr Marcel Mizzi, Deputy President Mr Philip Fenech and CEO Ms Abigail Agius Mamo.

 According to the Business performance survey, businesses reported a better 2021 over 2020 but it was nowhere close to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Asked about their biggest concerns for the year, businesses said they were seriously concerned about the increases in costs, the prolonged uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the uncertainty created by the impending general election.

In terms of financial constraints, businesses biggest concerns were sales levels, cash flow, problems with collecting payments, employee wages, banking issues and repaying deferred taxes.

Several businesses reported that they have suffered a difficulty in performance due to quarantine rules, as 13% reported that 30% or more of their employees were out at one go due to quarantine.

38% of the respondents remained neutral on whether they were satisfied with the overall business sales in the first few weeks of 2022. 20% and 15% responded being dissatisfied and very dissatisfied respectively. Despite this, an overwhelming 44% of the respondents believe that 2022 will have better results than 2021, factoring in better control of the pandemic and increased consumer confidence. 

Click here to download full survey results

During the same press conference, the Malta Chamber of SMEs has presented 5 key proposals that will address the biggest challenges facing our economy and businesses during 2022:

• Eliminate Excise Tax on Consumer goods such as Water, Non-Alcoholic Beverages and Toiletries. Eliminating this invisible tax imposed by our policy makers would leave Eur 5 Million in the pockets of local consumers during 2022, according to government budget estimates.

• Reduce the VAT rate from 18% to 15.5%. While safeguarding Government’s income, this measure would ensure that the Government would not be gaining out of the calculation of the VAT percentage on the inflationary increases. This leaves the difference in VAT in the pockets of consumers and businesses.

• Reduce quarantine leave, in accordance to the recommendation by the CDC, to 5 days for positive cases only. This would be followed by 5 days of mask wearing.

• Facilitate the employment of TCNs from countries that have a positive track record in terms of visa acceptance. The engagement of TCNs should be centrally administered by the government and fast tracked.

• Malta to lobby in favour of harmonised travel rulesin order to increase the level of confidence in travelling for private and corporate clients.

SME Chamber and its members look forward to experiencing it being led with the seriousness and commitment that is required and expected

The Malta Chamber of SMEs, in representation of a number of sectors directly dependent and affected by the Ministry for Education, amongst which licensed private educational institutions, wishes to pass on its congratulations to the new Minister Hon.Clifton Grima and Permanent Secretary Mr. Matthew Vella.

While auguring them all the success in their new role, the SME Chamber and its members assure them with their cooperation and commitment to drive the private education sector forward.

It must unfortunately be said that the Ministry has been marred by a lot of turbulence and this has made work and collaboration extremely difficult, with energy and initiative not achieving the desired results. Education is the most important pillar on which our society and our economy is built on.

As such, the SME Chamber and its members look forward to experiencing it being led with the seriousness and commitment that is required and expected. This will enhance the quality in this sector and we are fully committed to contribute in this regard.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs has full faith in the capabilities of the new Minister and Permanent Secretary. It is important that our policy makers at large invest in full in supporting the stability in this Ministry as its functions are crucial.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs firmly believes that both Hon. Dr. Clifton Grima and Mr.Matthew Vella are more than capable with improving the education state of affairs in Malta. Both Dr. Grima and Mr. Vella have always kept an open line of communication and closely collaborated with the SME Chamber with the aim of finding a workable solution for issues faced.

Many livelihoods depend on the well-functioning of the concession agreement

The Chamber of SME’s will continue consulting its members

The Chamber of SME’s, along with the Chamber of Pharmacies, have been in discussions with Government to enhance the Pharmacy Service even on Sundays.

This is no easy task. There are large logistical and other costs involved, and any enhancement of the service must take this into account. There is also a human cost in the equation to consider.

It is a known fact that the pharmacy service in Malta is one of the best, however, times change, and necessary tweaking is essential in order to improve an already excellent service.

The Chamber of SME’s will continue consulting its members and work towards an equitable solution that will ensure a fair compromise.

The SME Chamber supports the proposal presented by the Opposition to address Malta’s Insularity and market limitation

The Malta Chamber of SMEs has been highlighting the big problem Maltese businesses have with the inability to compete both outside Malta and in Malta itself, with online purchases. The weakness in being competitive with prices comes as a result of the high level of additional transportation costs that need to be accounted for as well the issue of economies of scale.  

 Malta’s economy has a number of handicaps, being a small island economy, that makes goods entering Malta much more expensive than that in any other country.   

 This problem has recently grown to a much bigger proportions at the close of 2020, with the cost of international shipping going up even by 10 times. Being a small island state Malta has no other option but to be reliant on imports by sea. Other countries have shifted more of their imports on land-based transport and have stronger manufacturing streams, making them less dependent on imports in the first place. Malta needs to address this problem in the short to long-term.  

Apart from this, Maltese Importers and Retailers have, at the same time, also been very negatively affected by Brexit. Malta’s small market does not justify the level of bureaucracy, and additional cost associated with it, for UK businesses to export to Malta. The deal the EU struck with the UK does not take into consideration Malta’s circumstances. This, in most cases, means that importers end up passing on the increase in costs to consumers. In some other cases it means losing the supplier they have been importing from for many years and removing products, that consumers have long become accustomed to, from the Maltese market.    

 The Malta Chamber of SMEs therefore supports the proposal presented by the Opposition to address Malta’s Insularity and market limitation. The SME Chamber has already presented the following proposals to address this serious problem in its Budget Proposals for 2022:  

Click here to download all proposals

Businesses, especially small businesses, have experienced a high level of regulatory compliance and costs

The fact that Malta has carried out an impressive level of effort in order to reach international AML obligations and build its institutions, is something that our organisation is well cognisant of, because our members have lived through it all.

Businesses, especially small businesses, have experienced a high level of regulatory compliance and costs associated to this, ever since Malta fell under the scrutiny of the EU and that of international players. Operating an enterprise in Malta has become very difficult over the last years however this still does not compare to losing Malta’s reputation and operating from a grey listed country. Maltese businesses do not want to operate within an economy of shady repute and want their name cleared in the immediate.

It is now very important to really understand what Malta has missed out on and address the real problems that have landed Malta in this situation in the first place.

Small businesses fear that what will come next from our policy makers will be more of the same and they will continue bearing the brunt for the deplorable actions carried out by a few. The SME Chamber will therefore continue to monitor the situation in close contact with members in the coming days. The SME Chamber is also currently assessing how the grey listing will further impact the performance of our economy, amongst the most important of which in this case is the functioning and accessibility to banking facilities.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs will make use of all the resources that will become available out of the FATF exercise in order to ensure that the problems are tackled properly and in a timely manner.

Malta’s reputation has now been very badly tarnished and we must all do our utmost to flip this over completely and rebuild Malta’s reputation in a way that leaves no room for doubt.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs calls on the government to make Malta the AML centre of excellence. Malta has now hit rock bottom and the only way to turn this around is to become THE country of repute when it comes to AML compliance.

For a country with limited resources like Malta, reputation was one of the pillars giving us standing. Regaining our reputable stand will not be an easy process, yet it is a must and an urgent one.

Press Release by the Malta Chamber of SMEs

 FURTHER EXTENSIONS WILL BE NECESSARY

The Malta Chamber of SMEs greatly welcomes the extension granted through the Central Bank of Malta’s Directive due to the exceptional circumstances the country is experiencing. In effect, there is therefore once again the possibility to apply for a fresh moratorium or extend an existing one.

This extension was necessary since business in Malta has been heavily impacted by Covid and some were already, and others are now, not in a position to carry out monthly re-payments to their banks due to the economic impact of Covid.

The general economic downturn is due to lack of tourists, lower confidence in spending and the increase in cases. These have led to very low economic activity in many businesses at the moment. Other business are impacted even worse due to direct closure requirements or heavy restrictions on their activity.

The SME Chamber has already advised the Central Bank of Malta during recent direct discussions that some businesses will continue needing this assistance beyond March. Now that Malta should be on the doorstep to restarting economic recovery businesses should be helped until they can get back on their feet and re-start repayments. Businesses currently closed have reported their inability to continue repaying interest with the Covid impact stretching now to close to a year, pushing their business to its very limits.

The SME Chamber has already advised the Central Bank of Malta during recent direct discussions that some businesses will continue needing this assistance beyond March. Now that Malta should be on the doorstep to restarting economic recovery businesses should be helped until they can get back on their feet and re-start repayments.

Malta should therefore initiate heavy lobbying at EU level to push for a further extension and not let the EU adopt a one-size-fits-all approach and let itself be led by the needs of large countries. Malta’s economy, its economic dependencies and vulnerabilities are markedly different to that of other countries and therefore Malta should be able to cater for its requirements.

The SME Chamber also wishes for the Central Bank of Malta and the Ministry for Finance to also enter into discussions with the individual banks and their representative association in order to address the transitioning between the moratorium situation and returning back to normality in terms of repayment. Banks need to provide the adequate support necessary for businesses needing some more time with moratoria and paced repayment of deferred loan repayments.

Covid has been hard on businesses and we ask for the cooperation and support of all stakeholders in order to reduce business closures as much as possible.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs takes this opportunity to thank Mr Mario Vella for his support as Central Bank Governor on the matter and to welcome his successor Prof Edward Scicluna, with whom the SME Chamber has worked closely along the years in his previous role as finance Minister.