The budget for 2025 aspires to advance our country and translate the economic achievements of the previous eleven years into a leap forward towards greater quality of life and welfare for the Maltese people. The budget invests in the middle class, particularly through tax-band revisions that put more money in families' wallets, while also caring for those with lower incomes to ensure that no one is left behind in benefiting from Malta's booming economy. The Labour administration is also investing in social measures, particularly in the health sector and social housing, while maintaining energy subsidies in place to keep inflation low. This is undoubtedly a highly social budget, part of a larger goal to build a stronger, more prosperous, and better quality of life for the Maltese people.

Women

This is a historic budget, especially from a female standpoint. For the first time in history, young and older women will not be subjected to the sanitary/tampon/pink tax merely because they are women. In 2016, the European Union agreed to leave it up to its member states to determine whether to impose a tax on women's sanitary pads and tampons. Eight years ago, the EU agreed to let its member states determine how much VAT to impose on sanitary items (including feminine hygiene products).

125,966 people will benefit from this budget provision between the ages of 10 and 45, which is the average age of women who are menstruating. Therefore, your daughter or granddaughter may profit from this social measure if you do not.

Period Poverty

It is important to view the so-called hygienic, tampon, or pink tax in a broader context. Particularly when it comes to period poverty. According to the World Bank, 500 million women and girls globally lack access to adequate facilities for managing their menstrual hygiene. "Period poverty and mental health implications among college-aged women in the United States" is the title of one study. The prevalence of "period poverty," or the inability to pay for sanitary products, among college students and its relationship to mental health difficulties in the United States were examined by Cardoso, L.F., Scolese, A.M., Hamidaddin, A. et al. (2021).

The 2021 study in the United States indicated that many young women's mental health may suffer because of their inability to pay for the monthly menstrual health products they require. To assist these young women, improved access to moderately priced menstruation products is claimed to be essential.

In Malta, we also have a lot of services that provide excellent expert advice to vulnerable individuals and families. Taking Malta to the next level by giving free sanitary goods would undoubtedly improve the lives of many female teenagers and women, who will now have more money in their pockets. Within the context of the Vision for Malta 2050, we should already be discussing whether we want to stop here or move our country to the next level by offering free sanitary goods throughout the country, as other nations do.

Mastectomy

This 0% VAT rate will also apply to medical accessories used in the treatment of cancer in women. Non-governmental organisations working on breast cancer issues have expressed their appreciation for the removal of VAT on mastectomy bras. It was interesting to see Esther Sant, Chairperson of the Action for Breast Cancer Foundation, thanking Dr Lydia Abela for listening to women who had breast cancer and ensuring that such measures were implemented.

Prioritising the human aspect of this budget

Following its political mandate to maintain a strong and rational economy while delivering an efficient and effective welfare system that benefits Maltese society, this administration has prioritized the human aspect in this budget. It attempts to live up to the promise that quality will be the emphasis of government in the next years.

Claudette Abela Baldacchino is a former Labour MEP