Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/585015
maltatoday, TUESDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2015 2 Budget 2016 maltatoday, TUESDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2015 BUDGET MEASURES How it affects you COLA The cost of living adjustment will be at €1.75 per week, granted to all workers, pensioners and those on social benefits. Students' stipends to increase pro-rata. Income tax cuts Single declarations up to €9,100, joint declarations up to €12,700, and parent declarations up to €10,500 won't be taxed. Single declaration up to €19,5000 to benefit from an annual €90 tax cut; €105 tax cut for a parent with single declaration up to €21,200; €120 tax cut for €28,700 couple's joint declaration; Working married couple with single computation can save up to €180; Working married couple each earning up to €21,000 can save up to €210; Minimum wage earners will not be taxed. Extra duty carried out by police officers to be taxed separately at a 15% rate. VAT cuts on sports 7% VAT on sports activities in- cluding gym memberships, fitness centres, football nurseries. Coaches and professional sportsmen to ben- efit from a 7.5% income tax rate. In-work benefit Earners with an income of €6,600 up to €15,000 to receive €1,200 for every child. Working couples earn- ing between €10,000 and €20,000 to receive up to €1,000 per child. The same benefit will be given to second parent joining the work- force. Families with one working per- son earning between €6,600 and €12,700 to receive up to €150 per child. Pensions 12,000 pensioners on minimum pension to receive an increase of between €4.15 and €8.92 per week, the highest receivers being those aged over 75. Married couples on minimum pension not affected by the meas- ure to receive a weekly increase of €4.15 per week over and above COLA adjustment. Additional €300 for elderly aged 75 and over. Live-in carer Government to subsidise the sal- ary of a carer employed to take care of an elderly at home, currently on a waiting list. The subsidy will be equivalent to up to half of the min- imum wage. First-time buyers First-time buyers to save up to €5,000 for their first home, back- dated to 1 July 2015. Withholding tax 15% withholding tax on residen- tial rents extended to commercial properties. Final withholding tax on prop- erty in urban conservation areas down to 5%. Vacant properties The litigation period of heirs caught in a dispute over the selling of inherited property to be reduced from 10 to 3 years. Therefore, if 51% of the heirs are in agreement, the property can be sold after 3 years. Property registration tax Registration tax on property bought in an urban conservation area to be halved (2.5%). Contracts must be finalised between 1 Janu- ary 2016 and 31 December 2016. Abandoned commercial property Government to launch consulta- tion on vacant commercial premis- es and what sanctions should be introduced. Vehicle registration tax refund Government to distribute VAT refund for cars registered during 2005. Fuel prices Petrol and diesel prices to de- crease as from January 2016. Price of petrol to decrease by 3c while diesel to decrease by 4c. The de- crease includes duty raise. LPG prices to remain unchanged until April. €0.50 environmental contribution Tourists aged 18+ to pay €0.50c per day, capped at €5. This will also include Maltese citizens travelling to Gozo. Cigarettes price hike The price of a packet of cigarette will go up at an average of €0.30c. Persons with disability and employment The fine for employers who don't comply with legislation in con- nection with disabled persons will double, reaching €1,600. Regularisation of irregular migrants' work A consultation process will be launched for the setting up of an Immigration Work Office. The sys- tem will be managed through a PPP and will regularise the employment of irregular migrants. Stipends for mature students Mature students in full-time courses at MCAST or University will receive a stipend. One-tablet-per-child Tablets to be launched in Octo- ber 2016; teachers will meanwhile receive training and technical in- frastructure will be strengthened. Schools St Paul's Bay to get a new school while the Mariam Al Battol to re- ceive financial support to construct a new f loor. A new residential and community centre for the Univer- sity of Malta; works for Gozo cam- pus to start soon. Childcare centres Three new childcare centres will be opened on Haz-Zebbug, St Ju- lian's and Floriana. Alternative energy incentives Families can invest in 'commu- nal' solar farm, allowing persons who can't have their own PV panels on their roof. Less bureaucracy, more financial assistance for start-ups The bureaucratic procedure faced by start-ups wishing to open up in Malta will be reduced to a one-week average, down from the current three weeks. Malta Enter- prise will launch fresh schemes to fund start-ups and companies that attempt to generate funds through crowdfunding. Tax credits for businesses that employ doctorate holders Businesses that employ people who hold or are reading for a doc- torate in science, IT or engineering will be given a maximum €10,000 tax credit. Financial assistance to SMEs in manufacturing sector SMEs that rent out space from the private sector for manufacturing purposes will be granted a maxi- mum €10,000 in financial compen- sation over a two-year period. Tax credits for female-controlled companies Self-employed women and busi- nesses in which women enjoy a majority equity will be granted a maximum €50,000 tax credit. Decision on shop-opening hours New laws regulating shop open- ing hours will be announced before the end of the year. Identity Malta A new system will be set up to improve the research of lands, contracts and other legal docu- ments within the Lands Registry of Identity Malta. Software will be updated and more investment will be poured into the Single-Permit Front Office. New PPPs – Education Malta, Property Malta, Malta Marittima Three new public-private part- nerships will be set up – Educa- tion Malta to promote Malta as an educational hub, Property Malta to promote Malta as an island of high-quality property, and Malta Marittima to coordinate govern- ment maritime policies. 'Masterplan' for Mriehel A 'masterplan' will be announced to regenerate the Mriehel Industri- al Esttate into a business hub. €13 million on roadworks Transport Malta will invest €13 million in roadworks, €3 million more than it invested in 2015. Works will commence on Vjal ix- Xarolla in Zurrieq and on Triq Patri Pelagju and Triq Anthony Aquilina in Haz-Zebbug. A tidal system pi- lot project will be introduced in a number of roads. Public consultation on traffic Transport Malta will launch a public consultation over potential solutions for Malta's traffic prob- lem. Bicycle incentives The government will reintroduce a scheme, whereby people who purchase bicycles or pedelecs will receive a grant of 15.25% on the purchase price of the bicycle. The maximum grant will be increased from €150 to €250. Two new funds will be set up - to encourage businesses to invest in bicycle racks, and to encourage lo- cal councils to promote the use of bicycles. Low-emission vehicle incentives The government will re-intro- duce a scheme to encourage people to dispose of vehicles over ten years old and to purchase vehicles with lower emissions. People who scrap an old vehicle and purchase a new electric one will be eligible for a €7,000 grant, people who purchase an electric vehicle without scrap- ping an old one will be eligible for a €4,000 grant, and people who pur- chase an electric quadricycle will be eligible for a €2,000 grant. Owners of hybrid vehicles with carbon dioxide emissions between 50 and 65g/km will be eligible for a €2,000 grant. Owners of plug-in hybrids with CO2 emissions be- tween 1 and 50g/km will be eligible for a €3,000 grant. Owners of vehicles with CO2 emissions lower than 100g/km will be entitled to a €900 grant, while owners of vehicles with CO2 emis- sions between 101 and 130g/km will be eligible for a €700 grant. Hybrid and electric vehicles will be exempted from Valletta's Controlled Vehicular Access parking scheme. Businesses that purchase hybrid or electric vehicles will be entitled to a one-off tax return of 50% of the purchase price of the vehicle. Cars that have clocked up over 160,000km will be obliged to un- dergo an annual Vehicle Road- worthiness Test. Motorcycle licenses License fees for small 125cc mo- torcycles will be slashed to €10 per years. Registration tax will be re- moved for electric motorcycles. Road discipline Higher fines will be dished out to drink-drivers and people caught using their mobile phones while driving. New laws will clamp down on people with unregistered foreign cars. Underground parking The government will launch two PPP pilot projects to identify new parking zones, preferably under- ground, in Mosta and Wied il- Ghajn. Out-of-court mediation The government will launch initi- atives aimed at encouraging people to resolve their disputes through mediation, rather than through the Civil Courts. American University of Malta Construction work will com- mence on the 'American University of Malta' campuses at Zonqor and Cospicua. Marsaxlokk regeneration The government will launch a re- generation project for Marsaxlokk, that will initially focus on convert-