For the past three months we have had the government, the opposition, constituted bodies, unions, non-governmental organisations and each and every association with a little bit of influence – not to mention many individuals – commenting on what should or should not be included in the budget for next year.

The publication of the pre-budget document in July has taken away much of the unknown, leaving the budget nothing more than a fiscal exercise. With the government basically giving the people a draft of the speech well in advance of the real thing, few people today are really bothered with B-Day any more.

Those in their 20s will have no recollection whatsoever of the budget speeches given during previous administrations in the 1970s and 1980s. Whereas today the bulk of the budget is a policy analysis, previous budgets were used by the government to tell the people that tuna fish had become cheaper and that tobacco and alcohol had gone up in price.

The budget was an event in itself, with thousands tuning in to the budget speech on the radio (or rediffusion) and television. People would be waiting in anticipation for days, weeks, in advance, speculating whether taxes were going to be raised, whether the wage freeze would be removed (on many

occasions it was not) and whether the children’s allowance would be increased.

The situation changed enormously following the change in government in 1987. The political scenario had changed. The budget was no longer seen as a shopping list from which ministers picked and chose how to distribute the goodies and impose the bitter pill called taxation.

Within a decade, the budget became the government’s financial and business plan for the country – as it should be – and a list of the tasks and objectives that were required to move the Maltese economy forward, to stimulate growth, to improve the standard of living and to consolidate the country’s finances.

Whether the tasks were completed and the desired objectives achieved is another matter altogether, and beyond the scope of this editorial. Yet, the concept of what a “budget” should be has changed for the better. The country finally has a business plan, not a shopping list. On Monday, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told The Malta Independent that the budget was no longer the be-all and end-all, but simply an important tool for government’s future strategy.

That certainly explains why the government felt the need last year to come out with a pre-budget document. Repeating the exercise this year, the government has helped to cancel out, once and for all, unnecessary speculation and rumours. For the past three years, the government has managed to educate the public that the budgets were the basis of a restructuring programme that will serve to build a better future.

When Dr Gonzi stands up to begin his speech this evening, he will be expected to give the taxpayer something that puts a smile on his or her face. Whether it is in the form of tax rebates, a reduction in VAT or a massive cut in the airport departure tax is not that important, as long as the public sees a return on their sacrifices.

People today understand what a business plan is all about. They know that they are an intrinsic element of that plan and that its success depends on them making a sacrifice. However, the ultimate aim of any business plan is wealth creation, and as shareholders in the company named Malta, the taxpayer wants to start receiving a dividend.

This evening, we expect the government to insist on consolidating what has been achieved over the past three years, to emphasise the importance of re-investing part of what has been gained but, for the first time in many years, also to give the shareholders what they have been working so hard for. What they deserve, within the limitations that are imposed by the country’s financial situation.