Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/739617
12 Budget 2017 maltatoday, TUESDAY, 18 OCTOBER 2016 EDUCATION AND BUSINESS Education Stipends extended to disabled students and students living in Church homes A new project will be launched in 2017 to tackle illiteracy in schools through sports, specifically using football as a means to make reading more attractive and to encourage children to read more, according to finance minister Edward Scicluna. The project will initially be rolled out in one school in Cospicua, Birkirkara, St Paul's Bay and Victoria, Gozo. Scicluna said construction was set to start in 2017 on three new primary schools in Marsas- cala, St Paul's Bay and Victoria, Gozo. A new day care centre is also scheduled to be built in St Julian's, while the primary school in Rabat is going to be extended, so that it will be housed in one building. The minister said that the government was committed to continue strengthening the stipends given to students attending post- secondary, higher and tertiary education in- stitutions. As such, stipends will be increased pro rata to reflect the cost of living adjustment, while the thresholds for eligibility to supplementary allowance will also be revised. Disabled students and students living in Church homes and conservatories, will now automatically be eligible for maintenance grants and the supplementary allowance. Students who extend their studies by one additional year will continue receiving their stipends, as though they were repeating a year in their course. Scicluna said that, as of 2017, full-time stu- dents under 24 years of age and who also do some work as self-employed, will be able to pay a 15% social security contributions on the income from work. Students over 16 years of age attending Level 3 of Maltese qualifications for hospitality and customer care, welding and fabrication at the Alternative Studies Programme in Paola, will also start receiving a stipend. Scicluna said that tablets will be introduced in all Year 4 classes in government, church and independent schools, while all computers over eight years old will be replaced. The Skills Council will be tasked with ana- lysing and determining which skills will be necessary in the years to find gainful employ- ment, so that educational institutions will start teaching students these skills. €400,000 were being allocated to cover sabbaticals applied for by teachers in public, church and independent schools, Scicluna said. He said that work would continue on the ex- tension of the Mechanical Engineering Lab, the Physics and Mathematics buildings, the Postdoc building and the multi-religion build- ing at the University. Renovations of the University Valletta Cam- pus and the Junior College will continue. Work will continue on the buildings to house the Institute of Engineering and Trans- port, the library and the Learning Support Unit on the new MCAST campus. Scicluna said that the €26 million Esplora Science Centre will be the first interactive centre offering related activities, making sci- ence more popular and attractive to students. "Local researchers will continue receiving financial support through Horizon 2020 and other financial schemes," he said. New development bank COLA increase GOVERNMENT will launch the Malta Development Bank which will have authorised capital of €200 mil- lion, out of which €30 million will be paid-up capital. An export credit agency will be set up, and a joint en- forcement task force will be set up to combat tax eva- sion. Government has earmarked the breakwater project in Marsamxett Harbour as it plans to link up the de- velopment bank with the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI). The proceeds from the sale of Maltese citizenship will go into the national Economic and Social Development Fund with national projects as well as pilot projects by local councils among its priorities. A €250,000 tax credit will be granted to investors in SMEs or funds registered on the Malta Stock Ex- change's Alternative Trading Platform. Third pillar pension Companies which offer voluntary private pension schemes to their employees will benefit from tax cred- its. Property Malta Government is teaming up with the Malta Develop- ers Association to set up 'Property Malta,' an agency aimed at attracting high quality investors to buy holi- day homes and move to Malta. New opening hours for shops Planning fees for projects in industrial zones will be reduced and shops will no longer need a trading license to start operating. Trade licences will be abolished for most commercial activities and up to 30,000 businesses will save between €70 and €1,000 a year. The law regulating shop opening hours will be re- vamped, with government pledging to strike a balance between the public's commercial interests and the per- sonal interests of shop employees. International school in Mtarfa Projects Malta will seek to address parking problems in Mosta, Wied il-Ghajn, Birkirkara, St Andrews and Birgu. The agency will also consider issuing a public call for the conversion of the former British naval hospital in Mtarfa into an independent school for international students, with courses leading to Bachelors degrees. A yacht marina will be built in Gzira, and possibly an- other one in Marsaskala. Restaurants can benefit from €50,000 in tax credits while hotels can save up to €200,000 if they carry out renovation works. Strategic partnership for Air Malta Reiterating that it will only sign a deal which is benefi- ciary for the country, government said that the future of Air Malta lies in a strategic partnership. With talks to sell off 49% of the national airline to Ali- talia on the brink of collapse, government said it would keep its options open but insisted that the solution for the ailing Air Malta would be that of teaming up with a larger airline. AFTER exceeding its targets for this year, Malta is expected to achieve a growth rate of 3.5% in 2017. After bringing down the defi- cit to 0.7% from a projected 1.1%, government is targeting to bring this down further next year. In 2017, government is project- ing a 0.5% deficit while national debt is expected to drop to 61% from 63% this year. The Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) mechanism will see wag- es increase by €1.75 a week. Eco-tax substituted by excise duty Eco contributions on toiletries, detergents and batteries will be substituted by an excise duty. An excise tax will also be im- posed on non-biodegradable utensils and garbage bags. Tax on cigarettes will increase by 3% or at least 18c per pack- et, while tobacco will increase by 5.5%. Tax on non-alcoholic drinks, not including water, will increase by 2% or 2c per litre. A tax will be imposed on con- crete and construction products, with the money raised going to- wards environmental projects. Tax refund on dividends Small shareholders (owners of under 0.5% of shares) who pay tax on dividends for companies listed on the Malta Stock Exchange will be entitled to a tax rebate. People who transfer ownership of family businesses to the next generation will see their stamp duty decreased from 5% to 1.5% for a single year. The first time buyers' scheme will be renewed for a third year. First time buyers The €5,000 tax concession granted to first-time buyers will be renewed for another year, while people who buy old homes in urban conservation areas will be given a maximum grant of €100,000 to be used on restora- tion works. Stamp duty on the sales of all houses in Gozo in 2017 will be slashed from 5% to 2%. All rental contracts will also have to be registered with gov- ernment although tax on rental income will remain untouched at 15%.