€100 grant increase for anyone who has a baby or adopts

€100 for anyone who has a baby or adopts

Oct 11 2021

A 2022 Budget measure will attempt to help new parents by giving anyone who has a baby or adopts an extra €100. The grant, which was first introduced in the Budget 2020, will increase from €300 to €400, with the Finance Minister stating that this will benefit around 4,000 parents. Starter-packs will also be given to these parents, packs with sustainable baby products.

Minister Clyde Caruana revealed that the government will start discussions at the MCESD level in order for Malta to have a position to implement a directive of the European Union on parental leave and work-life balance. The EU directive includes the extension of paid paternity leave to 10 days and introduces two months of paid leave for each parent which can be used until a child is eight years old.

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Photo Source: Clyde Caruana FB

Tax-free purchases on typical Maltese facades as well as vacant or UCA properties

Oct 11 2021

During the Minister for Finance and Employment’s reading of the Budget 2022 document, the plan for the increase and maintenance of traditional Maltese architecture will be enacted. Article 5.1.1 of the document stated that the government will remove taxes on purchasing and sales of vacant properties or those in Urban Conservation Areas (ACA) or those having traditional styles.

Particularly, properties which have been erect for over 20 years and vacant for over 7 years, along with those in urban conservation areas and new properties with typical Maltese architecture, will benefit from removed tax on Capital Gains and stamp tax on the first €750,000 of the property price.

The minister expressed the government’s enthusiasm and eagerness towards seeing facades typical Maltese facades which celebrate the island’s heritage and wish to see a further regeneration in old and abandoned properties.

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This measure applies to future property-owners who are currently going through their purchase agreement and has have yet to secure a contract. Furthermore, first-time buyers of said properties will receive a grant of €15,000, with Gozitan first-time buyers receiving a grant of double the value in €30,000.

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Photo Source: Malta Doors / Clyde Caruana FB

Lack of masks in parliament raises calls for return to normality

Oct 11 2021

As the 2022 Budget presentation continues, many were quick to notice that very few individuals in parliament were actually abiding to mask-wearing health measures. This was highlighted by many, with Daniel Chircop (one half of comedy duo Danusan), who said that the parliament would be the place where one could get an example of how to move towards normality.

He pointed out how 67 members in parliament are sitting without social distance and maskless. These are individuals, Chircop stated, who meet thousands of people in home visits. They are also individuals who are, most probably, not asked for a vaccination certificate, Chircop suspects. He said that this is a clear message that this is proof we can start the road back to normality.

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BREAKING: Free public transport to all Maltese citizens as of October 2022

Oct 11 2021

During today’s Budget 2022 speech addressed by Minister for Finance and Employment Clyde Caruana, it was revealed that as of October 2022, the government will provide free public transport to every single Maltese & Gozitan citizen and residents of the Maltese Islands.

In the first sub-article of Article 6 titled ‘Malta Moderna’, Caruana highlighted that the government has always provided measures which consider practical solutions towards perennial problems and stated that ‘the time has come to take the next step in Malta’s transport sector to address traffic congestion’.

The Minister stated that ‘after the disaster created by others’, it was this government which applied a sensible approach towards the transportation sector. By providing free transport to all citizens, Malta will become the second European country to invoke such a measure. This means that citizens who utilise public transport everyday will save over €300 thanks to such a measure.

With ongoing discussions surrounding Malta’s metro system and free transport for all as of October 2022, could Malta’s transport and mobility sector truly be heading in the right direction?

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