“Today’s budget is a balanced budget which has positive ecological and economic incentives but could have been much stronger in the social sector,” said Arnold Cassola, chairperson of Alternattiva Demokratika in an initial reaction to today’s budget speech. He said that the budget has a strong environmental aspect which runs through many measures announced by Minister Fenech. This positive aspect, which is a result of Malta’s accession to the EU, can only be supported by AD.
However, the budget fails to respond in an adequate manner to the main environmental problem facing our country today: the energy crisis. The hefty increases in energy prices are notable by their absence in this budget and the much hyped incentives in favour of photovoltaic and solar water heating systems are minimal, will favour only a small amount of families and will stop when the money runs out.
It remains to be seen whether the increase in the cost of living and the widening of tax bands will be enough to compensate for the hefty increases in the water and electricity rates. In this sense AD shares the concerns of all trade unions about the social impact that the energy price increases will have on the quality of life of low and middle income earners. While it is positive to see income tax decreases, these seem to be favouring more the higher income earners than the lower earners. A progressive system would see larger decreases for lower wage earners.
Another positive aspect of this budget is the assistance given to first time home buyers. However, once again, there is no measure to create disincentives on property speculation. AD also feels that more incentives should have been introduced to support more women return to employment.