It's Budget Day... that October day when you find out whether your salary/pension/social benefit/property speculation project will be impacted next year. Herman Grech will update you as it happens. 

8.43pm: Missed this evening's speech in Valletta. Here's a snapshot of all that matters to you and me.

8.37pm: It's not over yet. The Prime Minister and the Opposition leader will now hold their press conferences. Tomorrow's edition of Times of Malta will carry a 16-page supplement detailing the salient parts of the budget. We've got an online poll going and we'd like to know what you think in the comments section below.

8.35pm: For the first time in eons there are no new taxes or increases in taxes (that includes you, cigarette smokers) - there are clearly good measures to try to help the more vulnerable, but do they go far enough? It clearly is a budget intended to continue spurring economic growth, while the measures to help our terrible environment merely skim the surface. And what about the education sector?

8.32pm: Now that the speech is over, prepare for a barrage of post-budget analyses, with government spokesman Kurt Farrugia and former Greens chairman Michael Briguglio giving among the first snapshots of the 2018 budget.

8.30pm: Government benches unite in percussion, as Labour MPs applaud the Finance Minister's speech. "Work is looking for people rather than people looking for work," he says in conclusion.

And in a first in years, the budget speech lasts just under two hours! Maltese journalists heave a sigh of relief.

8.27pm: "Saħħarthom Dward," (You've bewitched them) - Joseph Muscat is heard telling Prof. Scicluna as the budget speech tails off in triumphant tone.

8.20pm: "This is a reformist government," Prof. Scicluna tells the House, saying there will be discussions on legalising medical cannabis, regulating prostitution and lowering the voting age to 16 in the next year.

8.11pm: But back to business... Prof. Scicluna pledges that SEC and Matsec will be phased out within two years, thus fulfilling a Labour Party pledge. He also says new schools will be built - in Msida, Marsascala, Qawra and Victoria.

8.08pm: Government MP and resident blogger Glenn Bedingfield has a crystal ball and envisages the PN leader's poor reaction to the budget. One News reports what it claims to be the main points of Delia's post-budget reaction speech. If the leak is confirmed, then the PN has an even bigger problem on its hands.

Meanwhile, Bedingfield points out that Simon Busuttil is missing from the House.

8.05pm: Fines for littering will be increased and law enforcement for environmental offences will be stepped up. We can only hope this pledge is carried through. And of course another government company incorporating all local wardens will be set up, with an emphasis on - ahem - education!

8.02pm: The budget speech is still going but we already have a new online poll. What do you think? Go to our home page to vote.

8pm: The cash-for-passports scheme will be extended - minister claims Malta can continue to entice quality people through a scheme many believe remains shrouded in secrecy.

7.55pm: MicroInvest assistance to be increased to €50,000 for businesses in Malta and €70,000 for businesses in Gozo. And a blockchain hub will be set up to help start-ups working within the field, as well as a web-portal to serve as a “means of communication”.

7.50pm: The government will continue investing in the country’s reverse osmosis plants with a new plant to be built at Ħondoq ir-Rummien in Gozo. A national water conservation campaign will be launched next year to continue raising awareness.

7.41pm: And yet another quango – Ambjent Malta – will be set up to oversee the ‘green environment’... in an island where the environment is being wiped out. A new tree will be planted for every newborn – that’s about 3,700 trees in a year. But before you think Malta will soon blossom into the Mediterranean version of Tuscany, just remember there’s always some contractor/government entity chopping trees as we speak to make way for blocks of flats... or to 'facilitate' traffic.

7.40pm: In case you wondered why most of the comments in this commentary disappeared at one point – it’s not your fault. A technical problem wiped out the entire text, but we hope it’s now been resolved.

7.36pm: The measure thousands of parents (and tens of thousands of drivers) will be relieved to hear: Free transport for all schoolchildren will be available from the next scholastic year in an attempt to drive the traffic chaos down during peak hours. The measure is expected to cost taxpayers €10 million a year.

Prof. Scicluna singles out the university student who came up with the traffic pooling initiative. There will be more initiatives to help boost the use of motorbikes and bicycles, even if riding on two wheels in Malta remains a potential death-wish.

7.28pm: Minister Scicluna drives headfirst into the traffic mayhem clogging Malta's streets. He announces a scheme granting anyone between 16 and 20 to travel for free on buses. No measures are announced to castigate the use of the car. The government will also be improving ferry services offered in the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett. Ferries at the two Valletta ports carry passengers to Cospicua and Sliema... And the minister announces the setting up of yet another government quango to help with the traffic and roads issue... because, you know, Malta is way too big to host just one transport watchdog - Transport Malta.

The Nationalist Party is clearly unimpressed.

7.07pm: The government will also be allocating more funds to settle historic injustices suffered by various categories of workers such as those in labour corps and the port workers. More policemen will be paid their dues for overtime worked. Government announces initiatives to boost adoptions from abroad as well as measures to boost foster care allowance.

7.05pm: Those aged over 75 who are still living in their own homes will be receiving €300 a year. Meanwhile, Partit Demokratiku's Marlene Farrugia is busy scrutinising the budget speech prepared by her former party.

7.03pm: Government officials and Labour supporters are in overdrive promoting the goodies being dished out in the 2018 budget speech. What do you think? Hashtag #MaltaBudget18

7pm: Workers earning up to €60,000 will as from next year start receiving a partial refund of their tax, but tax brackets will not be touched. All workers will receive cheques of between €40 and €68 as part of a promise made by the Labour Party in the last general election. All pensioners, whether on a contributory or non-contributory pension, will get a flat €2 weekly increase.

6.55pm: Wages will be raised by €1.75 weekly as from next year, in line with the Cost of Living Adjustment Mechanism. This includes the increase given in advance last year. And... all workers are to get an extra day added to their vacation leave from next year. The Prime Minister told journalists this morning that no agreement has been reached yet with employers’ organisations on how to implement an electoral pledge to restore public holidays which to date are lost when they fall on weekends.

6.51pm: Surplus will prevail throughout the next year... and bingo - there will be no new taxes in this budget, Prof. Scicluna annnounces.

6.47pm: This is Adrian Delia's first big political appointment since his election as Nationalist Party leader. Here's a picture of the new leader before entering parliament this evening.

6.40pm: Edward Scicluna's opening salvo refers to the Labour government's whopping electoral victory in June, highlighting the way the government has managed to cut the deficit and reduce unemployment, among other economic successes. Fellow MPs pat themselves on the back.

6.25pm: If you have anything to say about the Budget, tweet with the hashtag #budget2018, #budget18 or #Malta2018 and... your comment might be picked up in this running commentary or in tomorrow's print feature in Times of Malta.

6.24pm: The general election is done and dusted, but the Labour government said it plans to distribute the "surplus" in the country's finances to the electorate. So yes, it might be what we once used to call an "election budget"... as this woman enthusiastically tweeted this morning.

6.20pm: Finance Minister Edward Scicluna will be delivering the marathon speech, which often outlasts a football match (plus extra-time... and penalties).

6.10pm: Welcome to our live commentary of the 2018 Budget. Joseph Muscat gave us a sneak peak of the measures this morning but we've been sworn to secrecy about its contents. So buckle up, grab a bag of popcorn and join us on this fiscal ride.