They sat in deliberation as Tonio Fenech delivered his first budget speech. Here is their verdict.
Family
Alex and Marina
Alex, 52, is an accountant and a self-employed management consultant, while his wife Marina, 47, is a housewife. They have been married for 25 years and they live in Kappara with an income of €20,000 to €40,000 a year.
Their 19-year-old daughter Jessica attends the University while their son Julian, 23, has just graduated.
The whole family enjoys water-sports and every summer they move to their second home in Xemxija to make the most of the sea.
Although they try to save as much electricity as possible, both their houses lack alternative energy sources and every member of the family drives a car.
Alex is pleasantly surprised by yesterday's budget in light of the daunting international economic situation. Although he considers the tax reductions to be minimal, he expected worse.
He was especially pleased by the rebates on solar-heaters and photovoltaic cells. This, together with the rise in energy costs will definitely encourage him to invest in alternative energy.
Although he likes cycling he thought the rebate on the bicycles was "funny" and he was more interested in the public transport reform and the reduction of car registration tax.
Since through his profession he is involved with the business community he is pleased with the proposed legislation helping small businesses, promises of a reduction in bureaucracy, the move to curb abuse of unemployment benefits and the reduction of the "excessive" tax/VAT interest and penalties.
Pensioner
Antoine Cachia, 82
Is a pensioner who lives in a well-kept Valletta house with his wife, Joyce, with whom he has been married for 56 years. The couple have three sons and two daughters who are all married. They are also the proud grandparents of 12 grandchildren aged between 13 and 28.
A retired lawyer and businessman, he drives an Alfa 147. As a former Valletta local councillor he makes sure he is present whenever issues that influence the city's future are being discussed and works to safeguard the rights of its residents. Apart from a passion for Melitensia, he holds a special respect towards the capital city, as is evident in his initial reaction to the budget.
He welcomed energy-saving plans and the schemes for the restoration of façades of buildings erected before the 1950s and the increase, by €4 million, of funds allocated for local councils.
However, he said more attention needs to be given specifically to Valletta. "Valletta does not only belong to residents but to the whole nation and this has to be translated into physical terms by devoting a generous part of the funds allotted to have a city worthy of one of Europe's main capitals." He also believes the budget should have included measures to regenerate Valletta's population that is "being hampered due to the impossible rates for heating and cooling the large Valletta residences".
He also felt that a provision should have been included on the "unfair" succession duty. "If, for example, the surviving spouse has turned 80 at the time of the transfer (of the matrimonial home), the spouse has to wait 10 years to transfer the property without incurring tax.
This condition is discriminatory against senior citizens, especially those who need the money to maintain themselves in an old people's home."
Worker
Oreste Bottiglieri, 51
Having worked at the shipyards for the past 36 years, he was initially reluctant to apply for early retirement but finally signed on the dotted line, although this is not making him happy.
"The government made me resign after a psychological battle."
He lives in Għaxaq, in a house built on a government plot, with his wife with whom he has been married for 24 years - an HSBC branch manager - and 18-year-old son, who is studying community care. He drives a Hyundai Accent and his wife a Toyota Ist.
Working as a general foreman of steel workers gives him a salary of between €15,000 and €20,000. He believes work to be one of the most important things in a person's live. "What is a person left with if you take away the dignity of his job?"
He believes the budget will affect him badly, especially when considering the increases in water and electricity rates. The cost of living allowance will only make up for the tariff increase, leaving him nothing to pay for any other increases. He described the widening of the income tax bands as "ridiculous" and "too little".
"Any day I can end up unemployed. I have looked for alternative work but I will have to take a drastic pay cut. Together with the added expenses, that will mean a reduction in my standard of living."
He asked how the economy can move forward after this budget and questioned the 15c levy on plastic bags. "If they are so bad for the environment, why don't we stop importing them altogether? Or are we importing them just as a tax measure?"
A positive measure is the investment in Mcast, where his son studies.
Professional
Christian Vella, 31
Mr Vella is an auditor and one of three directors at 3 A Accountants, a young firm launched in February this year. He drives a Renault Chamade and earns about €30,000 a year.
He got married four months ago and he and his wife, Daphne, live in a terraced house, which they bought six years ago. He looks forward to starting a family with his new bride.
He was "generally satisfied" with the budget and described it as an "overall cautions budget with a special emphasis on the environment".
Since he and his wife bought a "second-hand house" he welcomed measures to introduce energy-saving mechanisms as they "are a good incentive for our future home changes".
He also welcomed the widening of the tax bands and the reforms of car registration tax that would now be based on CO2 emissions. He said it would be positive on his wife, who is looking to buy a new car and would have to fork out less money upfront.
Since she is also pursuing a career, the one-year tax exemption for working mothers "would facilitate our future plans".
His business would also benefit from this measure by encouraging women to stay on in the profession.
From an accounting point of view he says the "government maintained its momentum to fuel investment in small and medium enterprises".
"The introduction of General Accounting Principles will help users of financial reports understand them better" and he eagerly waits the content of the Small Enterprises Act.
However, he expected the budget to have more incentives to help enterprises promote e-business and measures to increase education and promote professions in the financial services sector.
Small business owner
Sandra Zammit, 45
A self-confessed "health freak", she lives in Qrendi with her physiotherapist husband and four children, aged four, six, 11 and 13.
A full-time homemaker for some 13 years, she recently mortgaged her house to start her own company producing wholly natural fruit juices, which are being sold in 60 eateries. Four months after opening the company, she employs three people. But she still does not pay herself, putting all the profits back into the company. "In the future, I will be happy to pay myself a wage. I am fulfilling a dream."
Her other dream is to buy a Toyota Prius, but cannot afford it, and currently drives a Toyota Rectis.
She is hoping that the budget will have a positive effect on her, especially in view of the incentives for small businesses, particularly to help those with innovative products. "I will surely be looking into the incentives more deeply, and applying."
The increased water and electricity rates are on her mind, especially since her fresh produce means having to keep the fridges running. And although the budget included a number of initiatives for alternative energy, she believes there was still not enough. "I think the government should do much more, even though it is costly." And while she agrees with the initiative to give families energy-saving bulbs, the government should have explained how this would reduce the carbon footprint.
Considering Malta's high obesity rate, she would have expected the budget to somehow push forward healthy food, which would, in turn, have a good impact on her company. "We have a problem which is having an impact on the country's health. We are responding by injecting money in care but not much in prevention."
Student
Matthew Mizzi, 20
A fourth-year law student, he lives in Marsascala with his parents. He earns a stipend of about €100 per month and has no time for a part-time job since he works voluntarily with a student organisation.
Matthew drives an 18-year-old car which he shares with his mother. He spends almost all his money on petrol, books, stationery, clothes, food and entertainment.
He thinks the budget's allocation of €1.5 million for the University library and research is not enough and he hoped there would be some mention of the current negotiations on lecturers' wages.
"I don't just need a stipend; I need dedicated and good-quality lecturers as well as updated books and journals."
He thinks there needs to be a talent-retention programme to stop the risk of the brain drain, apart from more investment in human potential and innovation.
He is worried about the car registration tax, which will penalise him for having such an old car. He knows that now no one will buy the car if he tries to sell it, yet it will cost him a great deal to keep it running.
He is therefore holding on to the hope that the public transport system will be reformed quickly so that he could use his car less. He also welcomed the eco-contribution tax for things like bulbs, neon lights and plastic bags.
"It's good that we're finally speaking of the polluter pays principle but we need to be more holistic. The subsidies for photovoltaic cells and solar heaters should be available for a larger number of families."
Although he says he does not drink much, he thinks his friends will not be too happy with the higher prices of popular alcoholic drinks. However, he welcomes the increased cost of cigarettes to promote health.
Environmentalist
Rebecca Borg, 25
A recently unemployed mother, Rebecca spends her time hiking, doing sports and volunteering for Friends of the Earth Malta.
Despite being a University graduate, she still lives in Birkirkara with her parents and she has never made more than €10,000 in a year.
True to being an environmental activist, she rides a bicycle and uses public transport because she does not own a car. She hopes the public transport reform will make her bus rides more pleasant and the roads safer for cycling.
She is pleased about the many environmental incentives such as the eco-tax on plastic bags, energy-saving bulbs, the rebate on bicycles and solar-water heaters. But since these are finite offers she feels more people should be able to benefit from the incentives to invest in alternative energy. She also welcomes the funds allocated for environmental projects and alternative energy.
Although she likes the emphasis given to sustainable development, she is worried about the lack of details on the development of the yacht marinas, which might result in degradation of the environment and less public swimming areas.
She also wished that there would be a mention of eco- and agro-tourism rather than simply giving a lump sum of €23 million to the Malta Tourism Authority without a sense of direction. She is pleased with the incentives for businesses to carry out environmental audits and the push for more energy-efficiency in households and local councils.