These are my first reactions after having read the budget measures at a glance. Unfortunately, I couldn't follow the whole Budget speech as I had to attend our local council meeting.
The most positive measures in my opinion were the waiving of stamp-duty on the first €150,000 for first-time property buyers, the continuation of the income-tax reduction first announced in 2012, and the incentives for private pensions (though details still need to be announced).
As for the reduction in electricity bills, it seems that this is going to be made up for by an increase in car licenses (which has unfortunately hit also small low-emissions vehicles). It's certainly not happening thanks to the unnecessary gas power-station project. As for the references to the Alice-in-Wonderland comment, they are certainly uncalled for, mostly for the fact that the project has changed so much from what was promised before the election that Alice-in-Wonderland is not the same project anymore: there's not 10-year fixed price contract, no gas-tanks being built on land, and gas storage has increased from the mentioned 60,000m3 to 126,000m3.
There's also an increase in duty on petrol and diesel which will see petrol prices increase by 1c till March and 2c after that. This contradicts the criticism Labour and especially Scicluna constantly made during the past five years that taxes on fuels were too high. In government, they're now increasing them further. Personally, as I've always said, I'd prefer to see increases in taxes on fuels rather than income (polluter-pays-principle), but this shows that Labour's criticism in Opposition was simply populism.
Lacking are measures to promote cultural activity: music, theatre and the arts, especially in view of the approaching Valletta 2018.
Positive are also the aids introduced for persons with disability. Let's hope these are implemented without unnecessary delay. Vulnerable people are the main sector of society for which government exists and which government should give priority to.
Negative is the fact that we're resorting to selling Maltese citizenship under a very questionable programme to generate revenue, because overall, it seems this government did indeed inherit a strong and vibrant economy. Let's hope the damage to our reputation by such schemes does not undo it.
Still, I think we need to be wary of the panem et circenses tricks. The unethical and abusive behaviour witnessed in these first seven months is not simply canceled away by making a extravagant show of the annual budget. The abusive and illegal arrest of an innocent person and the political interference in the army and police corps are matters which affect our basic rights and the basic pillars of a democratic society, and are certainly far more important than any talk of money. And it certainly was not necessary for the government post-Budget press release to involve the setting up of a mass-meeting-sized structure to speak to journalists when we have a Presidential Palace yard to be proud of and which always served well for this occasion.
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