21:08
A €1 million fund for children in need to buy essential school un iniforms and books
21:05
Six year plan worth €23 million to install lifts in government housing units.
20:58
A pool for Cottonera Sports Complex.
20:56
Diabetes patients (both Type 1 and Type 2) will get free glucose sticks, the range of free medication for cancer patients will increase.
It will become illegal for people to smoke inside cars carrying children.
Hospital for mothers and childres to be built at Mater Dei.
20:50
Government will automatically compensate those employees, or their next of kin, who die or suffer serious injuries at their workplace.
20:45
Changes to court prosecutions system.
Wardens to give warning notice instead of tickets for minor offences.
20:40
Comino to be designated a National Park.
20:38:
Yacht marina for Gzira with possibly another in Marsaxkala.
All options open on future of Air Malta.
20:32
Planning fees for projects in industiral zones will be reduced.
Shops wll no longer need a trading license to start operating.
The law regulating shop opening hours will be revamped.
20:30.
30 million euros investment for start-up’s for small and medium businesses.
14 million will be spent on the regeneration of the Ta’ Qali Crafts Village.
20:20
The Malta Development Bank will start operating, and will have authorised capital of €200 million.
Enforcement task force will be set up to combat tax evasion.
20:15
More good news for Gozo with announcement of second fibre-optic cable, a musuem at a cost of 5 million euros and a national pool.
Gozitan students at private tertiary education institutions will be applicable for subsidies, just as students at University and MCAST.
6 million euros for elderly people’s home in Ghajnsielem.
Fast ferry service for Gozo-Malta link.
Next year will see a public call for tenders for the design, building and operating of a sub seabed tunnel.
20:04
Tax rebates for companies that work with local councils to develop green areas.
Argotti and St Philip’s gardens at Floriana will be converted into botanical gardens in a €3 million project.
Picnic area at Ta’Qali to be extended.
20:00
Free public transport for one year for 18-years, a bid to reduce traffic congestion.
Maximum of 35,000 euros will be given to companies that organise a transport system for their employees.
19:45
Marsa power station to be completely decommissioned.
Enemalta will start work on Malta’s first solar farm.
1,000 families will also be given a grant for PV panels.
People on low incomes will benefit from an eco-scheme which will them upgrade white house-hold goods.
19:40
Students stipends will be revised according to COLA, the cost of living allowance.
Government will build three schools in St Paul’s Bay, Marsascala and Victoria.
19:36
Government will extend subsidies to elderly people who employ carers in their home, to a maximum of 5,200 euros.
19:32
An €8 million fund will be set up to address salary and overtime injustices for former Dockyards workers, police officers and Malta Electricity Board employees
19:28
Subsidy for private rented property for low-income families up from a monthly maximum of €83 to €166. The means test to assess who qualifies for the scheme will also be “drastically revised”, with eligibility requirements such as the need to have less than €10,000 deposited in a bank account removed.
Recent increases in social housing rent, which Minister Scicluna said was introduced by the previous PN adminsitration, will be reversed, and tenants will be fully refunded for the increased costs they have paid as from 2013.
19:22
Pensions for Carers to go up to €140 per week.
Disability pensions to rise to same level as minimum wage.
Pink card and free medicine for a year for those who are disabled.
19:20
Income tax on contributory retirement pensions – which reach up to an annual maximum of €13,000 – will be entirely abolished.
Pensions will increase for the second year in a row. Married pensioners on minimum pensions up by €4 a week.
Treasury pensions, service pensions and private pensions will not be taxed on first €13,000.
19:16
Supplementary allowance will be extended to include single low-income earners who don’t have children and when combined with Cost of Living will mean rise of 4 euros per week for low income families.
19:11
Stamp duty on the sales of all houses in Gozo in 2017 will be slashed from 5% to 2%.
Grant of €100,000 to be used on restoration works of old homes in conservation areas.
19:05
Tax on cigarettes and cigars will increase by 3%, while that tobacco will increase by 5.5%. Tax on non-alcoholic drinks, not including water, will increase by 2%.
Eco-contribution tax for toiletries, detergents and batteries will be removed. Excise tax will be imposed on non-biodegradable utensils and garbage bags.
The first time buyers’ scheme will be renewed for a third year.
Transfer ownership of family businesses to the next generation will see stamp duty decreased from 5% to 1.5% for a single year.
18:59
The COLA (cost of living adjustment) increase for next year will be €1.75 a year, eligible for both salaries and stipends.
Unemployment has fallen to record lows.
Malta’s economy grew by 4.1% in the first half of this year, more than double that of the Eurozone average, and that the country moved up eight places in the Global Competitive Index. The deficit has plummeted to 0.7% of Malta’s GDP, and the natioanl debt has decreased percentage-wise to 63.6% of GDP.
Deficit is forecast to sink further to 0.5% next year, while the debt percentage will reduce to 61.9%. Export sales expected to increase by 2.3%, while imports will increase by over 4% – due to the importation of materials for major products.
18.42:
Finance Minister Edward Scicluna rises to deliver the government’s Budget and begins with a message, “Thanks to our economic successes, which are the envy of our European neighbours, people are now concerned about things like education and the environment, rather than on unemployment or electricity bills.”
President of Malta Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca is presented with a copy of the Budget publications by Finance Minister Edward Scicluna.
Budget highlights to follow.
