Media group calls on Parliament to act on media bills Parliament has been asked to establish a select committee tasked with listening to input from the public concerning media bills that have lingered on its docket for over a year. The Media Reform Initiative, comprising journalists and opinion writers, has written to the Speaker of the House, highlighting that three media reform bills were added to the parliamentary agenda a year ago without any preceding public engagement. Despite calls for the government to withdraw these bills and initiate a public consultation process, the government merely indicated that it would suspend the enactment of the bills until public consultations occurred. However, a year has passed, and no public consultation has taken place. Although the prime minister appointed a committee, two months after receiving the committee’s final report, both the report and the draft laws remain undisclosed. (Times of Malta)
Tax changes will be revenue neutral – Minister
Clyde Caruana, the Finance Minister, has assured that the implementation of a minimum 15% tax for companies with an annual turnover of €750 million will not impact the country’s overall revenue. He noted that specific information regarding this new corporate tax framework will be disclosed during the budget announcement. These global minimum tax regulations, established by the OECD, a global organization, mandate that all EU member states adopt them by 2025. This shift to a minimum effective tax rate system will revamp Malta’s existing corporate tax structure, which currently offers foreign companies rebates that substantially reduce the effective tax rate from 35% to 5%. (The Malta Independent)
Authorities investigating after wind pushes parked aircraft onto runway
Aviation authorities are currently conducting an investigation into an incident that took place on Wednesday morning, where an aircraft was shifted by strong winds at the airport. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported, and there seems to be no damage to the aircraft or the airport infrastructure. Video footage circulating on social media depicts the aircraft being moved by the force of the wind, causing it to shift from the runway onto the grass verge. The aircraft in question, a De Havilland-8, is owned by Universal Air, a company based in Malta that primarily serves passengers traveling to Libya.
