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14 Budget 2017 maltatoday, TUESDAY, 18 OCTOBER 2016 REACTIONS General Workers' Union: 'very positive budget' THE General Workers Union said that the many social measures in the 2017 budget, such as increased subsidies on rent, increase in sup- plements and the introduction of an additional allowance for min- imum-wage earners, were sure to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable in our society The programme laid down in the government's budget for 2017 was a social one, built on a strong econ- omy and including many welcome measures that are sure to improve the quality of life of many people, according to Josef Bugeja, secre- tary general of the General Work- ers' Union. Bugeja praised the budget meas- ures aimed at low-income work- ers and at providing the means for workers to advance in their chosen profession. "We were pleased to note that the government accepted many pro- posals we had presented," he said. "These include increases in pen- sions, increases in supplements and the added allowance to be given to workers who earn a mini- mum age." Bugeja said the union was par- ticularly pleased that the govern- ment had introduced medical leave for cancer patients. "Equally important is the in- troduction of the notion of 'equal wages for work of equal value' that we had also proposed," he said. Bugeja said many measures would encourage and allow work- ers on a low income to learn new skills and advance in their place of work to positions with a higher wage. "We have been insisting that – now that we have full employ- ment in our country – government should incentivise workers and en- courage them to seek to advance," he said. "These and other measures like the increased subsidies on rent, make this a very positive budget and one that should help those most vulnerable in our society to have a better quality of life." UHM welcomes initiatives aimed at pensioners and in-work benefits Josef Vella says that excise on building materials punishes first-time buyers and lack of measures aimed at middle-class are problematic IN a reaction to yesterday evening's budget speech, Union Haddiema Maqghudin said they were satisfied to see that the budget contains a number of measures aimed at pen- sioners. UHM president Josef Vella said that UHM has been calling for more measures addressing the needs of pensioners who deserve more con- sideration that they have received so far. Vella added that the UHM was also satisfied to see a number of initia- tives aim at people with some form of disability, especially those who are unable to enter the workforce. Vella however lamented a lack of measures aimed at the middle class as well as a lack of initiatives on cooperatives, which the UHM had called for in their pre-Budget pro- posals. Vella also said that the UHM was disappointed that that no progress seems to have been made on the household budgetary survey. Another point of concern for the UHM is the excise duty on building materials. Vella said that while the government was giving incentives to first time buyers, it was also punish- ing them with this duty on building materials necessary for completing their house. The UHM is also satisfied to see more in work benefits, adding that this was in line with the UHMs phi- losophy. Another positive measure is that of the setting up of a skills council, which Vella said, the UHM has been calling for a while and which will al- low the country to better it's work- force. Finally, Vella said that the UHM was disappointed that no progress had been made on allowing work- ers to use their sick leave when their children are sick. He said that this was something that UHM would have liked to see enacted however there is nothing addressing this is- sue in the budget. MDA: New excise duty on construction material could affect first-time home buyers IN its reaction to the 2017 budget, the Malta Developers Association said it felt that the introduction of excise duty on imported construc- tion materials would negatively af- fect small consumers on their first- home purchase. The association said it under- stood that in a situation where the construction sector was doing well, those involved in this sector had to contribute to society so that there would be more social justice. It welcomed a number of meas- ures that it had proposed to the government during consultation meetings, including the extension of the scheme through which first- time buyers are exempt from paying stamp duty on the first €150,000. The association also welcomed the concession introduced for those passing on their business to their children, where stamp duty on transferred property has been es- tablished at 1.5% instead of 5%. The MDA said the budget also included other positive measures, such as the fiscal incentive for those who rent for not less than seven years so that the tenants will be sure to have a reasonable period of guar- anteed lease income. The lowering of stamp duty on property in Gozo from 5% to 2%, fiscal incentives for those who de- velop car parks, the renewal of tem- porary leases on property owned by the government, and financial as- sistance schemes for energy-saving products like heat pumps, wer also welcomed by the MDA. 'Minimum wage should have been increased' – AD TIM DIACONO GR EEN part y Alternattiva Demokratika insisted that the government should have in- creased the minimum wage, rather than merely increase in- work benefits for low-income earners. "People who employ staff on wages that aren't adequate for them to live a decent life should shoulder responsibilit y," AD chairperson Arnold Cas- sola said. "The minimum wage should be revised periodically to ref lect the qualit y of life that we aspire to. It is outrageous that the way the minimum wage is calculated hasn't changed since the 1970s. With all its rhetoric about how well the economy is doing, I would have expected the government to take heed of Caritas' advice in its latest re- port and increase the minimum wage." Cassola welcomed the in- creased expenditure on people with disabilit y, as well as the announcement that rent sub- sidies for low-income earners living in private residences will be doubled. However, he warned that the latter incentive was not enough to make good for inf lation in the rental propert y market, and could indeed prove more symbolic than effective. He hit out at the announce- ment that stamp dut y on sales of houses in Gozo will be reduced from 5% to 2% for the next year, warning that it could pave the way for "savage development and speculation that will con- tinue harming the qualit y of life of Gozitans". AD was also skeptical of the government's plans to combat Malta's traffic problem, insist- ing that it should have provided incentives for bicycles and elec- tric bicycles. "The initiative to give 18 year olds free public transport is a good idea, but investment in public transport isn't enough to solve the traffic problem," Cas- sola said. "Emphasis on junc- tions and new roads will only rub salts into the wounds and will solve nothing, because the real problem is that there are too many cars on the road." Gozo Chamber of Commerce pleased with budget proposals on tunnel and property stamp duty GOVERNMENT'S commitment to bring the deficit under control – down to 0.5% - and to lower the country's debt to 60% of GDP was welcomed by the Gozo Business Chamber, in its reaction to the budg- et for 2017. On the measures for Gozo, the GBC said it was pleased that govern- ment had accepted the chamber's to have the stamp duty on purchase of residential property in Gozo low- ered to 2%. It noted the measure should have been put into immediate effect, in- cluding all pending promises of sale, and not being put off for introduc- tion from the beginning of next year. The GBC said it welcomed the €16 million investment to increase space at the Xewkija Industrial Estate and the €3.2m committed to the instal- lation of a second fiber optic cable between Malta and Gozo. The Chamber said it was pleased to see that following the award of the tender for the geological studies between the islands, the government had now announced that next year it would be issuing an international tender for the design, building and operation of the tunnel between the two islands. "The Chamber also hopes that government will continue to invest more in the infrastructure needed on the island especially on the roads and other projects which will make Gozo an upmarket destination," it said.