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11 maltatoday, TUESDAY, 5 NOVEMBER 2013 Editorial MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 MANAGING DIRECTOR: ROGER DE GIORGIO MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 • Fax: (356) 21 385075 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: newsroom@mediatoday.com.mt Dward please do your best when reading out my script Making work worth it Joseph Muscat's first budget as Malta's Prime Minister is in general an enthusiastic, generous and welcome budget. There are, however, various sections which require further explanation, and that lack specifics. There were no great surprises, but the general feeling is that the 2014 Budget addresses work and credits those personal initiatives which embrace work. "It will make sense for anyone to work more as a result of this budget," Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told MaltaToday. He said this before the budget was presented to parliament, while talking to MaltaToday. And once again, there was a significant and different approach to the media in this budget. Muscat has departed from the style of previous prime ministers and chosen to reach out to the media and explain his vision. That is very welcome indeed. Surely, his Finance Minister – who lacks the requisite charisma and communications skills – would do well to replicate some of his panache. Unlike previous budgets, there was little or no fear of divulging certain aspects of the budget. The general drift in the budget is that those who work more will benefit from working more. It is to be expected that after so many years in opposition, the Labour party has had time to assess the lacunas that need addressing. There are schemes that want to address crass tax evasion that takes place: ranging from footballers or the issue of contractors who blatantly evade VAT. And the proposals encourage middle-aged women and men to return to work. There are tax incentives for the employer and the employee. There are also specific initiatives to make part-time work easier, to the extent that those who have a parttime business will now be allowed to employ people. There are various initiatives which address the difficulty of seeing more women out there in the workplace. These include the decision to make child care centres in private and public care centres free by April of next year – a move which needs to be addressed with increased space for more children. Other socially considerate issues include the decision to include certain health conditions in the categories which until now do not benefit from free drugs on the national health scheme. In the Budget, there are various initiatives to raise income, the usual and traditional methods: such as raising the price of cigarettes and alcohol, are in evidence. But there is also the citizenship scheme, which the government has decreed will generate €30 million, but which this newspaper believes will rake in much more. There is an attempt to attract undeclared Maltese investment abroad back to the islands. In the Budget, Muscat addresses innovative issues which may be popular within their own segments, but which come at a cost. There is the issue of a sabbatical for teachers, a pilot project for tablets in schools. Coupled with this, the education segment will be receiving a 12% increase in its budget and that at university a 13% increase. There are other comments in the budget which are worth picking up; the government's insistence that it will ask the MFSA to look into the way the local banks are issuing interest rates and banking charges, for instance. All in all this is a cautious approach, which shows that the government is concerned but not willing to put untimely or unsavoury pressure on the banks. A white paper on the future of wardens may point to the eradication of the present private warden system for a government-controlled system. And the study on an airstrip in Gozo is an attempt to identify the viability and of course to gauge the opposition to this project. This budget, of course, also features a more important reform, which is basically related to the reduction (25%) of electricity and water tariffs. This, the government hopes, will lead to a positive outlook in spending power. It is the cherry on the cake for the new administration. The concluding remarks in this budget refer to building a new middle-class. It is perhaps this consideration which is at the back of Muscat's mind.

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