Prime Minister Robert Abela once again doubled down on the claim that the country’s next budget will not include any new taxes, despite the economic blow of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking in a telephone interview on party media on Sunday, Abela said that those who thought that the support measures which the government had taken during the pandemic would be followed by austerity measures were mistaken.

Abela was largely asked about government projects or investments announced in the past week during the short interview, with the focus being on the country’s economy.

Asked about the government’s economic outlook – with the ONE Radio’s interviewer claiming that “Malta’s strong outlook has been confirmed all entities except by the Opposition” – Abela said that Moody’s credit rating agency had confirmed Malta’s A2 rating – the best the country has had in a decade.

What both Abela and the interviewer failed to mention is that Moody’s had revised Malta’s outlook to “negative” due to the FATF’s greylisting of the country’s financial jurisdiction.

Abela made only a vague reference to this, saying that Moody’s had explained that Malta has some “challenges to overcome”, but hastened to add that he was convinced that these could be overcome.

He noted that in the past, it had been the people who were forced to shoulder the financial burden of Malta’s flailing economy, and that Malta had been downgraded as a result.  Today, he said, government income remains at record highs and the country has the lowest unemployment ever.

Economic aid to businesses, he said, has started to shift from support to incentives so that they can grow and help the economy grow with them.

Abela here said that while other governments abroad are increasing taxes on things such as fuel or electricity, or through the VAT, in Malta there will be no such increases.

He promised a “strong” budget without any new or increased taxes which will continue to sustain those who need to be sustained.

Asked how the relaxation of quarantine measures for the fully vaccinated which sees close contacts of Covid-19 cases having to isolate for seven days instead of 14 affects the economic prospects of the country, Abela noted that while it was welcomed by the business lobby it was only possible because of advice from health authorities.

Abela said that with 86% of the population now fully vaccinated, and hospital numbers stable, they were satisfied that the country could move forward in relaxing this restriction.

He said that the measure had been welcomed by business lobbies because while the government was paying for quarantine leaves, they were still being left with a reduced workforce for two weeks.

Moving on to investments in the Three Cities and Grand Harbour areas, Abela said that the recently published strategy for the Grand Harbour is one of great significance and which aims to realise the potential of what is the “most beautiful port in Europe.”

He said that the strategy divides the area into nine zones, with a priority given to each one for improvement.

“I’m not going to say that this is the first government to invest in this area, because I don’t believe that the sun only rose when this government came to power – unlike the Opposition which believes that the sun set in 2013 – but I can say that this is the government which is investing in the Three Cities and Kalkara area the most”, he said.

He said that the maritime sector is one where Malta can excel, noting that there had been – for instance – a 65 % increase in the number of super-yachts registered in the country in the last four years.

The sector, he said, is central to Malta’s post-Covid economy and ties in with the strategy announced for the Grand Harbour.