Alessia Xerri

Age: 17
Residence: with parents
Relationship status: single
Job: student
Income: receives a stipend

Higher Secondary student Alessia Xerri said there were various positive elements in the Budget, especially for students.

“It’s really good that students who want to do a year of voluntary work will get a stipend,” she said, pointing out that she would consider doing it herself.

Ms Xerri said that as a student, she could not complain about the measures especially since the Government was investing in stipends.

Although not a smoker herself, Ms Xerri said the six per cent increase in duty on cigarettes, which would amount to an average rise of between 20c and 30c per packet, would hit her peers who were still studying.

“But I don’t think it will make them stop smoking,” she said.

The immediate increase in the price of petrol, which will rise by 2c per litre with immediate effect, will also affect students.

She described the Budget as a “neutral one” leaning towards being positive.

“There were many good measures such as the increase in children’s allowance and those related to energy,” she said.

Even the incentives to keep mothers in the labour market were good. “I think it’s important that mothers are given more opportunities to go back to work,” she noted.

Women who return to work after five years or after having children will still be able to enjoy a one year tax free status.

She described the schemes to invest in solar panels as a “good idea” and added that the investment in factories and schools would mean more jobs for students when they graduated.

Gejtu Cristina

Age: 67
Residence: flat in Birkirkara
Relationship status: married with one daughter
Job: active pensioner – working in the hospitality industry
Income: €15,000-€16,000

Mr Cristina said: “I think the Budget is courageous as, next year, the Government will face a lot of challenges. It’s not going to be an easy one.”

It was also brave because it came after the country went through a hard year, which still delivered good results. Mr Cristina said it was a Budget that encouraged businesses to invest more and would benefit people.

“Personally, I will benefit from the pensions incentive but there are other measures such as the increase in children’s allowance and the introduction of a new income tax band that will affect many people,” he said.

Although it was “quite negative” that the Government introduced a duty on petrol and diesel, which will increase by 2c per litre with immediate effect, Mr Cristina pointed out it was impossible for people to have everything their own way.

“It’s unfortunate but it was inevitable and 2c per litre are quite negligible,” he said.

One had to keep in mind all the positive measures in the Budget and that there was an international crisis, Mr Cristina added.

He described the Budget as a “tangible” one that was focused on a long-term investment and vision. “It’s not about giving people fish but giving them a rod,” he said.

On the whole, it was a realistic Budget that would help the economy, especially at a time where there were many families that struggled. However, all of Europe was struggling and many countries had to introduce austerity measures.

Steve Zammit

Age: 32
Residence: Birguma apartment
Relationship status: married with two children, aged four and one
Job: airport services
Income: €25,000 to €35, 000 (joint)

As the father of a growing family, Mr Zammit was glad to hear the Government pledge there would be no increases in utility bills next year.

Like many families, most of his family’s income is spent on food and bills so that pledge offered some peace of mind.

It was also positive to hear that the children’s allowance would be increasing from €350 to €450.

“In our case we’ve got two children and another one on the way – so €100 extra per child will help,” Mr Zammit said. The €4.8 cost of living adjustment was not much but it was better than nothing especially when one kept in mind that the employer had to fork out the money.

He was also pleased with the measure that reduced income tax for middle income earners, including joint incomes, from the current 35 per cent tax to 25 per cent over three years.

He was not trilled by the increase of 2c per litre in excise duty on fuel consumption and did not like the fact that the scrappage incentive has gone down from €2,000 to €500 for private vehicles.

He agreed with increasing the tax paid on cigarettes and tobacco since they “are something people can do without”.

Being self-employed his wife, Rebecca, is glad that the MicroInvest tax credit scheme had been extended.

The increase in childcare centres was positive although it did not impact his family since they had a lot of help from their parents when it came to looking after the children.

As a family he also liked Government’s commitment to continue investing in parks and open spaces since “the children love it.”

“I think it’s a relatively good Budget considering the problems there are around Europe,” he said.

Epifanio Vella

Age: 55
Residence: house in Siġġiewi
Relationship status: married with three children aged 16, 17 and 18
Job: coordinator of the Centre for the Blind, Aġenzija Sapport
Income: between €15,000 and €25,000

For Epifanio Vella the Budget speech was a “good one”. The blind man is very active in the disability sector and believes that one of the measures, which will “definitely” encourage disabled people to contribute to the community, is the extension of the local council work scheme.

Governmental entities and NGOs will now be included in a scheme to employ 150 disabled people, and a third of these slots will be allocated to Gozitans.

Two other “positive measures” are the tax reduction for disabled people who pay fees for residency services in respite centres and the proposal that disabled married couples will now be entitled to separate pensions, not a single conjugal one.

However, Mr Vella is disappointed that the disability pension was not raised and that the road license fee for disabled people, which had been reintroduced a couple of years ago, was still there.

The Budget measures will affect Mr Vella not only as a disabled person but also as a worker and a father.

As a house owner he welcomed the public call for the installation of photovoltaic panels and extension of the solar water heater scheme, which he will probably take advantage of.

And as a grandfather-to-be he is also pleased with the announcement of the increase in child-ren’s allowance.

“Overall, it was a good budget, and it was heartening to hear the government was committed to improve daycare services for disabled people.”

Together with a social worker, Mr Vella coordinates the individual social programmes of some 15 people that attend the Centre for the Blind on a daily basis.

Jane Chircop

Age: 48
Residence: Qawra penthouse
Relationship status: separated and has a daughter, aged 22
Job: managing director of Sapphire Real Estate
Income: €15,000 to €25,000

Being self-employed and the owner of a real estate company, Ms Chircop was glad to hear the Budget gave priority to the property market, which is a very important economic sector.

She welcomed the measure extending the choice of paying capital gains tax (paid when property is sold) or a 12 per cent final withholding tax saying it would help the market.

Another important measure announced was the reform on the property evaluation by Government-appointed architects. Ms Chircop said it was great to see incentives for first-time buyers.

It was positive that the 3.5 per cent stamp duty ceiling for first-time buyers was increased from €116,468 to €150,000. However, this only affected those buyers who could afford a €150,000 property, so perhaps it would have been better to reduce the tax rather than up the ceiling. It was positive to see the removal of the “inhumane” stamp duty on transfer of inherited property from parents to their children.

Another plus was to see that people going on a short let in Gozo would be saving money on the ferry although she would have liked to see measures on rent introduced for Malta.

“I also liked the restoration schemes a lot since they encourage people to invest in safeguarding what, I believe, is our heritage,” she said.

Being self-employed, she said, it was good to see the renewal of the Micro Invest Scheme for small businesses. The scheme grants tax credits of up to 40 per cent of the investment proposed by SMEs.

On a negative note, Ms Chircop said, the price of cement had gone up again this year and this would impinge on the price of construction.

“Overall, it was a positive Budget. It’s important now that there are no surprises during the year,” she said.