Bid to entice Air Malta pilots with tax-free option on part of their salaries

The govt is considering offering Air Malta pilots a tax-free option on part of their salaries, based on flying hours, in an attempt to break the deadlock in negotiations over a new 5-year collective agreement, informed sources have said. Tourism minister Konrad Mizzi had set an end-of-year deadline for concluding the talks. “Dr Mizzi’s self-imposed deadline is fast approaching, and it is by now clear that the pilots will not accept what’s on the table,” a govt source said. “As a last-ditch attempt, the minister is now trying to lure pilots with an unprecedented offer which, if given, would most probably get Malta in trouble with the EU, because it would amount to state aid.” Source said Mizzi was basing his argument on the fact that most flying hours are performed in international skies and are therefore not taxable in Malta. <br/>