The government will this evening announce the budget for 2021. The budget measures will be announced by Economy Minister in Parliament at 6pm.

Prime Minister Robert Abela, together with Scicluna and Economy Minister Silvio Schembri has been meeting with the social partners over the past few days. Several unions, associations and other entities, as well as the Opposition, have presented their own budget proposals.

One of the measures that is widely expected to be announced is the continuation of the Covid-19 wage supplement scheme, while the PM announced yesterday that another round of Covid-19 vouchers is on the way.

Some of the proposals requested by the social partners include a bonus for health frontliners, utility bill vouchers and a reduction in taxes for part-timers.

The Nationalist Party has called for more investment in core sectors of the economy and several environmental initiatives.

This will be Robert Abela’s first budget.

The Malta Independent will be updating its readers in real time on www.independent.com.mt and a detailed reports will be published in the newspaper on Tuesday.