First-time buyers should be given a one-year concession from paying stamp duty on properties under €120,000, the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprise, GRTU, has proposed for the upcoming Budget.

This measure would help shore up the first-time buyer market, which the chamber said was virtually at a standstill while the sales of quality apartments were experiencing a slowdown and a significant reduction in prices.

“The GRTU has always advised the government to help and incentivise first-time buyers to meet each requirement,” said the chamber, releasing proposals it planned to discuss with Finance Minister Tonio Fenech next week. The chamber is proposing reducing the current 35 per cent withholding tax on promise of sale to 12 per cent.

Moreover, the government was urged to eliminate the one per cent fee paid on the promise of sale, which was discouraging potential buyers. Although this fee was refundable, many had to wait for months to get their money back, and sometimes never did.

Instead, the chamber recommended a non-refundable €50 administration fee to register promise of sale agreements.

It also recommended extending the five-year period in which owners could choose whether to pay 12 per cent tax on the sale price or 35 per cent on the profit by another three years.

“Property sales have become much more difficult to achieve and investors are losing confidence in the property market, especially with the amount of taxation they are suffering,” it said.

The chamber said the government had allowed bad planning, leading to oversupply of ordinary apartments all over the island, including in prestigious areas.

Moreover, property owners did not feel renting out their property was a feasible option because of the 35 per cent tax this move would carry. The chamber recommended lowering this tax to five per cent on residential property and 15 per cent on commercial property.Foreigners should also be allowed to buy more than one property and developers should be incentivised to build energy-saving buildings.

Reacting to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority reform announced in July, GRTU general director Vince Farrugia said the chamber agreed with its general principles.

However, it was calling for a clearer definition of the functions of the policy unit that would be set up within the Office of the Prime Minister. Mr Farrugia said it was imperative to have a clear demarcation line, established in the law, between the functions of this unit and that of the authority.

“We need to know why decisions have been taken and ensure they are based on research rather than whims,” he said during a press conference.

Although the chamber was in favour of a zero-tolerance approach in Outside Development Zones, it wanted a new approach when it came to the use of such land for business that would generate jobs.