On 14 October 2019 the Budget for the 2020 legislature was presented to the Parliament of Malta.
Combating climate change is an item which is high on the Government’s agenda - on its efforts the Government shall propose a national strategy with the aim of making Malta carbon neutral by 2050. In order to curb the use of plastic, single use plastic shall be banned by 1 January 2021.
A substantial amount of incentives were introduced in relation to the elderly whereby various pension related measures and bonuses were mentioned.
A series of incentives and measures were introduced with respect to immovable property in order to ease the issue of affordable housing in Malta. In fact, the Minister for Finance announced that the Government secured another year of the First Time and Second Time Buyer’s scheme.
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
Gross Domestic Product and Budget Surplus
Malta’s GDP growth remains strong in comparison to the European average. The Minister reported that it is expecting a surplus of 1.4% at closing 2020.