Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1510683
2 maltatoday | TUESDAY • 31 OCTOBER 2023 BUDGET2024 COLA Increase of €12.81 per week. More persons will be elegible for two aid packages of up to €12.81 €100 to €1,500 €780 ADDITIONAL COLA FOR VULNERABLE PEOPLE INCREASE FOR ALL PENSIONERS STUDENTS' STIPENDS Stipends will increase by €64 per year, in line with COLA increase. All pensioners will benefit from a €15 increase per week because of inflation. This will cost the government €80 million besides an additional €50 million to be spent on other social measures. The aid of €100 to €1,500 will be distributed in December and May. The actual amount will be based on the family's means and the number of children in the family unit. This benefit will be paid every year. It is revised upwards whenever inflation rate surpasses 2% and when inflation across any three of five main sectors - food, housing, utilities, household maintenance and health - tops the average of the previous five years. REAL GDP RECURRENT EXPENDITURE CAPITAL EXPENDITURE DEFICIT EXCESSIVE DEFICIT PROCEDURE INTEREST EXPENDITURE DEBT GDP growth will remain strong 2024 and onwards, remaining steady in real terms. Lower recurrent expenditure will amount to 32.4% of GDP in 2024. Recurrent revenue is also on the decline. Capital expenditure will dip in 2024 and then rise again. The EU's programming period M+3 (2014-2020) will also be coming to a close. Expenditure in 2023 looks excessive because of an accumulation of capital projects being completed and paid for. The deficit will shrink in 2024 and continue to do so up to 2026, decreasing by 0.5 percentage points. In 2024, rules on the excessive deficit procedure will be changing and will become more flexible. Two tracks will be available: a four-year path or seven year path. In the first option, the country will have four years to lower the deficit to 3%. This is the path Malta will take. Within four years, Malta's deficit percentage will fall within this threshold. If it opted for the seven-year path, government would have more time to comply but the European Commission would decide where the cuts would have to be made. Additionally, the debt in the medium to long term – those exceeding 60% - would need to be consolidated. Government will continue lending at 4% current bonds, as long as the European Central Bank maintains its rates at current levels. And the ECB shows no signs of changing its rates any time soon. Debt will reach 55.3% in 2024. The capitalisation of Air Malta, while not impactingg the country, will have an impact on the debt. FIRST TIME BUYERS GRANT First-time buyers will receive assistance when buying an empty property or property located within Urban Conservation Areas in Gozo. CIVIL SERVICE Civil servants will be receiving a higher COLA increase than in 2023. TAX REFUND CHEQUES More than 250,000 workers will benefit again in 2024. This measure will cost government €26 million. CASH GRANTS FOR SMEs Government will once again be spending €40 million on cash grants for small and medium enterprises. MINIMUM WAGE €250 €213.54 CHILDREN'S ALLOWANCE Children's allowance will increase by €250 for every child in 2024. Gov- ernment will be spending a total €15.5 million on the additional allowance for 6,200 boys and girls. The minimum wage will increase from the current €192.73 to €213.54 per week, starting on January 1, 2024. This figure includes the Cost of Living Adjustment, following an agreement between the social partners that determines minimum wage increases for the next four years. PROJECT GREEN Government will be spending €80 million in rehabitating 80,000sq.m of greenery as part of its Project Green CARERS GRANT Parents who do not work to take care of adult disabled children will receive an increase of €1,000