The holiday is over or is it

The Times of Malta

The holiday is over`.or is it`

Tax evaders should consider their holiday as over, warned sternly the Minister of Finance` indicating that the government is finally getting equipped with tools to spot offenders and to throw the book at them.

This should be applauded. Tax evasion is one of the most unsocial state of affairs and no modern economy can achieve sustainable growth if it does not equip itself with effective weaponry to fight it.

It is also to be hoped that government`s resolve does not get diluted by political convenience as electoral tests start to approach. I think we have been through this road before but it is never too late to re-try.

However even if the government gets all the success it is proclaiming from tax revenue collection this will be only a temporary respite from tax evasion unless other `holidays` are also brought to an end. If the tax-payer does not get satisfaction that his tax money is being well spent rather than simply sent down the big black hole tax payers will find the simplest loop-hole in the fiscal gamut. They will simply stop investing locally and will start amassing capital in centres out of our taxman`s reach.` The taxman can only get richer if the whole economy gets richer. If the taxman gets richer while the whole economy grows at much slower rate than the growth of the tax take,` then something will backfire sooner rather than later.

So tax evasion is not the only holiday that should end .` There should be an immediate end to the holiday on` accountability. This is a must in order to give the tax-payer due account that revenues extracted from him are being well spent.

And lack of accountability has never been worse than its current state. Gone are the days when Ministers resign because they recommend a few days presidential pardon to a prisoner without cabinet approval.` Instead we get the Prime Minister refusing the resignation of the Prison Director following repeated failure in the prison security system even though the Prison Director admits that resigning was the appropriate decision in the circumstances.

What accountability have we had for the poor return we got from the privatisation of Mid-Med Bank In which serious country would such a gross misjudgement which cost public coffers several ten of millions of liri, had been allowed to go on without a single resignation` How can our intelligence accept that this strategic huge deal could be single-handedly concluded by just one person without expert advice Why did I never get a decent reply to my query as to why the valuations ostensibly prepared by the Maltese side include a 6% risk premium in the discount factor of future earning streams` This is utter and downright unaccountability by the very same person who now demands our complete tax accountability.

Where is the accountability in the civil service` Some localised or peripheral improvement in particular departments is not denied. But what about the general picture Employment in the public sector has started to grow again in spite of all talk of excess manpower.` What initiatives have been taken to start addressing this excess manpower` What re-training programmes have been embarked upon` What incentive programmes have been launched to stimulate the migration from public sector to private sector employment particularly in productive areas where the market offers a sufficiently competitive environment`

What accountability do we have on the impact of high oil prices on the trading performance of the national energy company` Who was responsible for the decision not to hedge against such oil price increase` Why was such hedging under a Labour Government so much scorned by the Minister now responsible for the heavy losses being incurred when such hedging, if properly used,` could be a very effective risk management tool`

Who is accountable for the poor states of our shipyards which are absorbing a very big chunk of our productive (sic!) investment budget.` Where was the foresight of our managers in allowing the shipyards to reach this pitiful state after absorbing and wasting so much resources whilst Nordic shipyards just can`t keep up with the order book for new cruise liners. If the market wants cruise liners why do we insist on building timber carriers, tankers or ferry boats`

And finally who is accountable for the horrendous state of tax evasion as depicted by the Minister` He is not exactly new in his post! Why is it that only now that we have to get the money to fund the civil service pay increases maturing next year that we are being forced to apply` fiscal enforcement in a desperate crisis approach`

If the tax evasion holiday has to end in a sustainable matter we need to kiss good-bye our accountability holiday. I can almost hear the calling` `next question`.