Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1462258
8 NEWS maltatoday | TUESDAY • 22 MARCH 2022 Manifesto analysis: How the parties want NICOLE MEILAK THE parties aim to lower taxes indirectly. The Labour Party will be wid- ening the tax bands, while the Nationalist Party will offer tax credits. Athletes and artists will enjoy lower taxes under the PN at 5%, but only the Labour Party is promising to offer the tax re- fund cheques. How will you be taxed under the Labour Party? • Under a Labour govern- ment, single persons will not have to pay tax on the first €10,800 they earn in a year. Married persons will not pay tax on the first €14,400, and for parents this applies to their first €12,200 earned. • For the elderly, Labour will increase the ceiling on non-taxable pension by €3,600 for single computation and €5,000 for married computa- tion. This ceiling will be in- creased from €2,500 to €4,000 for elderly people who opt to reside in a private elderly care home. This measure will also apply for people with a disabil- ity residing in a private home. • Part-timers will continue to be taxed 10%, as promised in last year's Budget. Same goes for overtime income earned by workers in non-managerial po- sitions whose income doesn't exceed €20,000. • The Labour Party will keep the same 7.5% tax rate for peo- ple working in sports. These in- clude players, licensed coaches and athletes, as well as workers in sports organisations, refer- ees, and game officials. Artists will also keep their 7.5% in- come tax. • Authors and co-authors will see their tax on royalties low- ered from 15% to 7.5%, on part with athletes and artists. • The Labour Party will in- crease the tax reduction meas- ure from €100 to €300 a year for parents who send their children to sports, arts, and cultural activities. For parents who don't pay tax because of low income, they will receive the same amount in the form of a grant, valued at a maximum €300. • Foreign professionals eli- gible for the Highly Qualified Persons Scheme and who opt to work in Gozo will be exempt from paying any tax on the first €30,000 they earn in a year. • Labour's flagship tax refund measure will continue through the next legislature. Married persons earning a maximum €28,700, single persons earn- ing maximum €19,500 a year, and parents earning maximum €21,200 a year will receive a tax refund up to a maximum €165. • The Labour Party will low- er the tax rate for companies from 35% to 25% on the first €250,000 profits. The tax on share transfers will drop from 5% to 1.5%. • Companies will receive a full tax refund on the tax paid on investments to their oper- ations. Businesses investing in research and innovation will benefit from a 150% tax re- duction on related expenses. Tax refunds on contributions from private organisations to the cultural sector will increase from 150% to 200%. • On a social level, the Labour Party pledges to assist busi- nesses that subsidize the cost of childcare for their employ- ees through tax reductions of up to € 35,000. • Labour also intends on "starting a process" whereby capital gains tax becomes more competitive, "both for Maltese companies and other foreign companies that choose to op- erate in Malta". However, the party doesn't commit to a tax rate, or whether the capital gains tax will indeed be low- ered over the coming five years. • A lower tax will be adopted for hotel and accommodation operators, equivalent to 30% of the costs incurred in making new investments on in reno- vating their accommodation. How will you be taxed under the Nationalist Party? • Whoever earns less than €20,000 will be given a 10% tax credit on the tax paid the year before. For those earning between €20,000 to €40,000, a 5% tax credit will be given on the amount of tax paid the year before. • Those earning between €40,001 and €60,000 will be given a 3% tax credit on the amount paid the year before. For the €60,001 and €80,000 tax credit, the income tax rate will be 25%. • Students or workers under 21 years old earning less than 60% of the national median in- come level will be exempt from paying social security contri- butions. • Athletes and coaches, and anyone who opts for a full-time sports career, will enjoy a 5% tax rate on their first €80,000 income. Professional artists will benefit from a 5% tax rate on the first €80,000 income too. • For pensioners with invest- ments through rent, interest or