€213m for new business incentives

Business incentives given under the Malta Enterprise Act have been given the all-clear by the European Union after being approved by the Maltese Parliament last October.

Investment Minister Austin Gatt told a press conference this afternoon that the new incentives package was far more flexible than the incentives which used to be given under the Business Promotion Act and was intended to promote investment by new investors as well as existing ones.

An important element of the new package, he said, was that the definition of manufacturing industry had been substantially widened, so that more companies, including those involved in Information Technology and services, could now benefit from assistance.

Dr Gatt said the government would be allocating €213 million over a period of five years for the incentives. Some of these funds would be coming from the European Union,

The incentives are divided in six categories: Access to finance, Investment aid, SME development, R&D and innovation programmes, Enterprise support, Employment and training.

They include tax credits computed as a percentage of either the value of capital investment or the value of wages for 24 months covering new jobs created as a result of an investment project.

Other assistance includes grants to innovative start-ups which demonstrate potential for job creation and growth and SME development grants to assist SMEs participate in fairs . There are also benefits for business advisory services.

Additional information can be found on http://incentives.maltaenterprise.com