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11 BUDGET 2026 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 NOVEMBER 2025 Budget 2026: Tidbits of income and expenditure Finance Minister Clyde Caruana delivered his fourth budget of this administration, the penultimate one, if the prime minister decides to take the legislature to its full term. Kurt Sansone took a look at some of the curious, obvious and surprising income streams and expenditure items listed in the financial estimates tabled in parliament INCOME Smokeless tobacco This is ostensibly the first time that 'smokeless tobacco' has appeared as a line item under the product list on which excise duty will be charged. Smokeless tobacco is chewable or comes in pouches that are placed between the gums and the cheek. Govern- ment is projecting a rev- enue of €30,000 in 2026 from excise duties levies on smokeless tobacco products. The amount pales into insignificance when compared to the €97.3 million gov- ernment is expecting to collect from cigarette duty. Electronic cigarettes and their refills will yield €300,000 next year, a decline of €200,000. Petroleum Government is estimating that ex- cise duties on petroleum products will rake in €122.3 million next year, which surprisingly represents a reduction of almost €7 million on what the govern- ment is expecting to collect by the end of 2025. Construction The budget seems to suggest a slow- down in construction activity next year with the government forecasting income of €17.3 million from excise duties on cement, a decrease of €4.7 million over 2025. Excise duties on construction components and oth- er fixtures are also expected to yield less—€1.4 million, which equates to a decline of €600,000. Driving, cars and tyres Income from car registration tax is expected to decline by €2 million to €32 million in 2026. Similarly, the government is es- timating that income from the annual circulation licence fees will decline by €14 million to €86 million. However, government is also forecast- ing higher receipts from the excise duty on tyres. The estimates project an in- come of €2.3 million from the tyre tax, €400,000 more than last year. Mobile telephony People will not be calling less next year with the government expecting revenues to the tune of €5.8 million from excise taxes on mobile telephony services, an increase of €800,000. Hotel licences and eco contribution Income from hotel and ca- tering establishment licenc- es is expected to increase by €500,000 to €1.8 million. However, the environmental contribution paid by tourists, both domestic and foreign, when staying at hotels is expected to yield €21 million in 2026, an increase of €13.6 million over 2025. This significant in- crease was the result of a hike in the contribution from 50c per person per night to €1.50. The eco contribution is the only tax which was increased in the budget. Gaming taxes The gambling industry will contribute €67 million to public coffers next year, an increase of €2 million over 2025. Stamp duty Stamp duty on documents will yield €275 million in 2026, a whopping €20 million increase over 2025 despite no change in the tax levied. Golden passport There will be no income from the cit- izenship by exceptional merit scheme, better known as the golden passport, in 2026. The scheme had to be scrapped in its former incarnation after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled earlier this year that it infringed EU law. The estimated in- come for 2025 was €30 million. Zero income is expected in 2026. Only a portion of the funds from the scheme used to be directed towards the annual budget with the bulk going into a national wealth fund. EXPENDITURE Public debt servicing Public debt will rise to €12.5 billion next year, nonetheless, the ratio of debt to GDP will remain stable at 47.3% on the strength of a growing economy. However, the servicing of public debt will next year cost the country €1.3 bil- lion, the first time this expenditure has surpassed the billion-euro mark. LGBTIQ Hub A new expend- iture item with- in the Office of the Prime Min- ister is the cre- ation of an LG- BTIQ Hub with a budget allocation of €200,000 for 2026. Cannabis education The government that partially legal- ised cannabis is allocating €400,000 for what is being termed as cannabis educational reform next year. This ex- penditure is apart from the €1.1 million allocated to the Authority for the Re- sponsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC). Integration strategy A budget of €500,000 is being allocat- ed to implement the Integration Strat- egy and Action Plan (2025-2030) that was unveiled earlier this year. Malta Vision 2050 A line item worth €4.5 million has been inserted within the budget of the Office of the Prime Minister under the heading Malta Vi- sion 2050. This long-term vision docu- ment was launched for public consulta- tion earlier this year and is expected to be finalised in the first quarter of 2026. Stipends The spend on post-secondary student stipends will increase by €6 million to €48 million next year, in line with a 15% increase across the board. Similarly, sti- pends for ITS students, which are listed as a separate line item in the estimates, will increase to €950,000. Free Matsec exams The allocated spend to cover free Matsec exams will remain unchanged at €2.5 million in 2026. Schools outlay The government subvention for church schools, which is the result of the church-state agreement of the 1990s, will top €165.4 million in 2026. What is billed as an Investment Fund For Private Schools will result in an expenditure of €4 million, while as- sistance to the Mariam Albatool School run by the Islamic Call Centre in Paola will be of €500,000. Meanwhile, the government will be allocating €110 million for the University of Malta, €71 million for MCAST and €12 million for the Junior College. Rock music The Culture Ministry has been allo- cated a €1 million budget for the organ- isation of a Rock Festival. This amount is €600,000 more than 2025. The Malta Biennale captained by Heritage Malta will have a budget of €2.4 million in 2026. Children's Allowance The outlay on Children's Allowance is expected to increase to €103 mil- lion in 2026, up from €89.7 this year. The government has increased the flat payment by €250 per child for those earning less than €30,000. VAT lottery A budget of €765,000 has been allotted for the fiscal receipts lottery, which is intended to encourage people to ask for a fiscal receipt when shop- ping. Space policy Malta may not have astronauts or spaceships but it still has a Space Pol- icy under the aegis of Xjenza Malta, a government agency. Nonetheless, the budget for 2026 is allocating a spend of €400,000 for Space Policy and regula- tion.