Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1418522
INCOME tax for working pension- ers will be levied only on work in- come, not pensions, finance minis- ter Clyde Caruana has announced. He said the measure will encour- age people to continue working when they reach retirement age. Pensioners today are collectively paying €27 million in taxes. The measure will reduce the tax burden for pensioners at a rate of 20% per year, over a five-year span. Caruana said around 8,500 pen- sioners, who are receiving supple- mentary income apart from their pension, will see a substantial de- crease in the tax they pay, while a further 8,200 pensioners will not be taxed. The measure will cost govern- ment €27 million. STIPENDS will all be increased by 10% and students will be able to work up to 25 hours a week, and still be entitled to a stipend. The total increase in stipends will amount to €5 million. Caruana also announced that more investment will be made so that more students could get work place- ments within the private sector. After the launch of a pilot project in 2021, a €1 mil- lion investment will see more schools hosting SEC ex- ams, so that students could sit for exams within their schools. Caruana said that this will facilitate exams for students with certain difficulties and help in re- ducing exam stress. A programme is to be launched that will modernise the equipment of some 180 school science labs. New schools will be built in Msida and Victoria, Gozo, while schools in Qormi, Mellieħa and Għaxaq, and Gozo will be modernised. A scheme called Horizon Support Measures will of- fer opportunities to Maltese researchers to collabo- rate with international and European companies. FINANCE Minister Clyde Caruana confirmed that the Government will continue investing in the road infrastructure. "This Government will continue improving the infrastructure of the Maltese archipelago so that our country could sustain its econom- ic growth," said Caruana. The Labour government had embarked on a €700 million road infrastructure overhaul. He said that till the end of the year the road works on a number of arterial roads, as well as on projects like the Central Link, with an investment of €55 million. Caruana also said that works on the Kirkop tunnels, the Airport Intersection project and the Mrieħel bypass will pursue. The finance minister also said that works on 34,000sq.m on new roads have been complet- ed Gozo until September 2021. He added that works on a number of arterial and residential roads in Gozo will take place in 2022 and the aqueducts of Rabat will be restored. ROADWORKS PENSIONS STIPENDS Roadworks to continue throughout 2022 Tax burden for working pensioners to be reduced All students to benefit from 10% stipend increase 11 maltatoday | TUESDAY • 12 OCTOBER 2021 BUDGET2022 Tax burden for pensioners who still work will be reduced at 20% per year over the next five years Students to still get a stipend if they work a maximum 25 hours a week