Workers and students will be receiving cheques worth €100, with pensioners and people on social benefits getting up to €200 as part of a cash injection to the economy, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Thursday. 

This is over and above the tax refunds which the government announced today as well. 

The government’s total outlay in the form of the cash cheques and tax refunds will be €70 million, 380,000 people will benefit, he said in Marsaxlokk today. 

Abela, accompanied by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, said the wage supplement scheme will be retained for as long as it is needed to ensure that the economy recovers quickly post-COVID.

The prime minister emphasized that the country has seen the lowest unemployment rate in its history, in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This incentive not only rewards the hard work of the people, but through the cash injection, the country’s economy can continue to generate,” said Abela.

The additional cheques, added to the tax refund cheques, will enable consumers to use them in all sectors, rather than just the selected ones which the government voucher scheme was limited to. This will generate increased economic activity in all sectors, aiding the recovery from the pandemic as the country returns to normality, he said.

Inflation on essential goods and products has been felt abroad, but the government has made direct interventions, such as in energy, gas and fuel, to keep prices in Malta low, said Abela.

“The Maltese public has not seen an increase in these prices as the government has taken on those costs for the benefit of the individual,” Abela said.

In comparison to other countries, the Maltese government has been courageous in absorbing these additional costs, he said, adding that it has even reduced diesel prices. Had the government not done this, Maltese families would have seen an increase of €500 a year in these costs. Abela said that Malta is one of the few countries with a low inflation rate, a rate which would not have been reached under a Nationalist administration.

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced that the deficit for last year is expected to be 8.1% of GDP, as against the expected deficit of 11.1%.

Caruana said the lower deficit enabled the government additional financial room.

Caruana said the €70 million stimulus package was well within the government’s financial means and no financial burden will fall upon the public. He continued to say that no other government was as benevolent with its citizens. 

Tax refunds

Single people earning between 0-€15,000 - €125. 

Those earning between €15,001 and €30,000 - €95 

Those earning between €30,001 and €60,000 - €60. 

Couples earning between €0-€20,000 - €140.

Couples in the €20,001 to €40,000 bracket - €110.

Couples in the €40,001 to €59,999 bracket - €65.  

Parents earning between 0-€15,000 - €135.

Parents in the €15,001 to €30,000 bracket - €105.

Parents earning over €30,001 - €60.