Overtaxed? : a comment on the Maltese experience

Successive government economic documents in Malta over the past twenty years consider the role of the local tax structure in terms of its contribution to stimulate personal initiative and encourage production, and to generate sufficient revenue for the State to finance at least the annual current expenditure. Yet, it is becoming common to read that local production is overburdened with taxation and regulations. If this claim is correct it means that the tax policies currently implemented are defeating the Government's own set objectives. In this paper we comment on the theoretical relationships that exist between the tax structure and the two policy goals indicated and we assess the validity of the proposition that Malta is an overtaxed economy. No reference is made to non-tax factors, which are considered harmful for economic development.peer-reviewe

A contribution to income distribution analysis in Malta

Income and wealth distribution statistics constitute an important element in the formulation and assessment of pragmatic and effective economic and social policies. Yet, notwithstanding the unquestionable usefulnessof such data - also spelled out in a report by economic advisers to the Maltese Government - and notwithstanding claims regarding the elimination of poverty from the Maltese Islands, data on the size distribution of income and wealth are not readily available. Information on the income and assets of Maltese taxpayes and welfare recipients may be being compiled by the Departments of Inland Revenue and Social Welfare; but, if such data exist, they are not published. For this reason, fragmentary statistics on the wage or income distributions of certain subgroups in the Maltese population assume a relevant significance for socio-economic analysis despite any inherent shortcomings.peer-reviewe

Maltese migration : a critique of two views

The year 1984 may have started a new phase in the international migration movement of Maltese. It registered the lowest number of emigrants and return migrants in a year - 629 and 654 respectively - for the past forty years and thus yielded, practically, a net emigration of zero. This latter result rendered operative one of the basic assumptions underlying population projections in the Maltese Islands introduced by government economic planners in 1977. If this condition persists throughout the eighties, the Maltese population will grow at about 0.9% annually, that is, at the average rate of natural increase for the past years.peer-reviewe

Dispersion of pre-tax basic pay rates in Malta

This paper records the dispersion pattern of the basic pay rates of wage and salary earners in Malta in census years 1957 and 1967. Studies of labour's aggregate remuneration rates i.e. basic rates plus bonuses, overtime payments and non-financial fringe benefits, cannot be carried out; statistical data are inadequate in quality and in quantity. For the same reason it is not feasible to analyse the personal or the household income dispersion within a set time period or over time i. e. to graph the time profile of personal or household incomes. The compilation of data about income and wealth composition and ownership has only recently been initiated in Malta; this late start in collecting such statistical information, crucial for socio-economic planning, seems common to many developing countries. It is hoped, therefore, that this paper's modest contribution would be of interest to researchers engaged in worldwide comparative studies of labour 'income', however defined, and also to those 'development economists' active in constructing socio-politico-economic indices for evaluating the existence or otherwise, of a trade-off between distribution and productivity policy targets in less developed countries.peer-reviewe

Welfare programme reform and income supplements

The economic objectives that demand the consideration of State Authorities in any country, irrespective of the socio-political framework within which they are to be attained, could be reduced to two basic, generally conflicting, goals: Productivity and Distribution. These policy goals aim to determine and guide to achieve the scale upon which goods and services are to be produced and how the continually formed aggregate output is to be shared.peer-reviewe

Occurrence of Legionella in beach shower facilities

It has been analyzed 36 samples of water proceeding from beach shower facilities: 7 of these were found to be contaminated with Legionella (19.44%). In three showers, L. pneumophila 1 was reported, in two L. pneumophila 2-14; in another two cases L. pneumophila 2-14 was found together with Legionella sp. and L. pneumophila 1 together with L. pneumophila 2-14. This study, which confirms the circulation of Legionella in our region of southern Italy, extends the list of the possible sources of infection, including also public and private beaches among the contaminated sites. It is the Authors opinion that when evaluating the risk in these cases we should take into account that the crowding of the beaches in the summer months and the communal nature of shower use in these periods increases the frequency of exposure of children and old people. These vulnerable categories are significantly more likely to develop the disease once infected

Rights, compensation, and the market in Maltese case law

Claims for compensation following infringement of human rights, accidental damage to property, loss of business arising from the abuse of copyright and patents, and loss of life through someone else's negligence are nowadays common in many countries. Even governments are demanding payment from unwilful transgressors for damage due to the natural wealth of the society they represent. A case in point is Egypt's recent claim from a British shipping line for damage to a coral reef in the Red Sea following the grounding of a passenger liner, the Cunard Royal Viking Sun. At the same time countries could be requested to pay other countries which suffer as a result of activity carried out in the process of business or research: Holland demanded payment from Swi~zerland for pollution of the River Rhine by Swiss chemical plants in 1986, and an Australian Royal Commission concluded in 1985 that Australia was entitled to charge Britain the costs of carrying out work on the decontamination of land affected by Britain's nuclear tests twenty years earlier. [excerpt]peer-reviewe

On the desirability and the implementation of a factor share policy for Malta

'What is produced is distributed in the process of production' is a simple economic statement implying, as often happens, complex connotations. For, the interrelationship between the production and the distribution of a given output is only crudely understood in economic theory. In addition, ideological conflicts regarding asset ownership, income distribution and wealth accumulation render an understanding of the production - distribution relationship more difficult still to achieve. A recurring socio-political concensus, effected through Government policies, becomes therefore essential for the attainment of a series of partial solutions through time.peer-reviewe

Isolation of Yersinia enterocolitica biotype 1 A

A survey has been carried out for the presence of Yersinia enterocolitioca in raw meat products. One hundred and twenty raw beef, chicken and ham samples were assayed for the presence of Yersinia enterocolitica by the 4 degrees °C enrichment method after 2 weeks of incubation using phosphate buffered saline. Yersinia enterocolitica biotype 1 A non agglutinable (NAG) was isolated from a sample of beef and identified by Api 20 E System and additional biochemical tests, Lipase, ?-D-Glucosidase and Pyrazinamidase. The Author related about pathogenicity of Yersinia enterocolitica biotype 1 A that may cause symptoms similar to that caused by virulent biotypes. The presence of Yersinia enterocolitica in raw meat products represents a health risk for consumers therefore was suggested to yersiniosis control and further surveillance studies on epidemiology of such emerging pathogens