One thing which got me during yesterday's Press Conference by Alfred Sant was his answer to the question by the AzzjoniNazzjonali.com guy regarding unpaid taxes and dues by the Parties and their companies. Far from apologizing for not paying their dues and complying with the law Alfred Sant excused them and comparing them to other non-paying private companies.
How about comparing them to the ordinary citizens who do pay their dues? Anyone of those who miss paying by just one day is assailed with fines, penalties and all kinds of harassments? What kind of example is he giving? Thank God he is reducing the surcharge by half when his and similar companies do not pay the bills outright getting a 100% rebate on the whole bill.
Likewise what example are Mangion and Vella giving? The fact is that for seven consecutive years they signed and approved accounts which did not give a true picture and fiddled with their tax for at least seven years. The fact that they got away with it for seven years out and settled afterwards does not alter the fact that they fiddled in the first place. As Directors of a company they are responsible for the accounts and income tax declarations. I am curious to know how much tax they did eventually pay and what penalties and interests were levied by the Inland Revenue. If an ordinary citizen is caught fiddling the Inland Revenue comes down really hard and throws the book at you. Did they do the same with these two politician businessmen?
This just reaffirms the alienation from government and laws that many of us ordinary citizens feel. There is a law for the ordinary citizen and another for the powerful and well connected.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment