Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1544097
CONTINUES PAGE 8 YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT SUNDAY 29 MARCH 2026 • ISSUE 1378 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Political-speak Summer time Gourmet Get your free copy with MaltaToday What they mean when they say 'in the coming weeks' Don't forget to move your clock one hour forward PAGE 6 A EASTER EDITION ISSUE 79 • MARCH 2026 Untitled-1 1 Untitled-1 1 25/03/2026 02:08 25/03/2026 02:08 VAT reduction for restaurants will be partly self-financing, Mario de Marco says A Nationalist Party proposal to lower VAT to 7% for restau- rants will be partly self-financ- ing due to higher income tax receipts from improved profits, Mario de Marco said. Explaining the proposal in an interview with MaltaToday, the PN's tourism spokesperson said this measure is being taken on by the PN after consulting with stakeholders. He said the measure could lead to cheap- er prices for con- sumers but also acknowledged that restaurants might retain the prof- its to keep the business sus- tainable. Freedom Day Regatta SEE STORY PAGE14 Developers' lobby seeks EU probe into affordable housing scheme KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt GOVERNMENT'S plans for affordable housing have hit a major snag after the Malta De- velopment Association asked the European Commission to investigate the scheme over "potential unlawful state aid". The MDA submitted a for- mal complaint with the Eu- ropean Commission's State Aid Directorate, claiming the affordable housing scheme announced last year grants "selective advantages" to "spe- cific undertakings" within the development and property sector. The letter, in MaltaToday's possession, is dated 20 March 2026 and asks Brussels to probe the scheme, which is managed by the Foundation for Affordable Housing, a joint venture between the Maltese Government and the Catholic Church. Parliament approved the transfer of public plots of land in four localities to the foun- dation last year. The founda- tion is tasked to develop these lands into apartment blocks that will be sold at 30% below the market value in the respec- tive localities—Fgura, Marsas- kala, St Julian's and Kirkop. The intention is to help people who don't qualify for social housing but are not earning enough to buy a house. NICOLE MEILAK nmeilak@mediatoday.com.mt CONTINUES PAGE 8 maltatoday €2.20