Malta Chamber of SMEs presents its Budget 2024 proposals

The Malta Chamber of SMEs announced its Budget proposals for 2024. The Malta Chamber of SMEs Budget priorities for 2024 are:

The full set of proposals can be founder here: Malta Chamber of SMEs Budget Proposals 2024. 

The below is a summary of the main proposals presented: 

Our country is faced with what feel like insurmountable global challenges on which Malta has no control. In reality however there is a lot that Malta can do to directly and indirectly mitigate the impact of the waves reaching our shores. One example is the subsidy on the price of electricity that has spared Malta further inflationary pressures. The SME Chamber is putting forward proposals which are in line with Malta’s priorities as they aim to address our national challenges.

If we had to choose three segments we would surely start with inflation as a challenge which is afflicting both consumers and businesses. The SME Chamber is proposing a number of fiscal measures that will help improve affordability and the investment appetite, both of which have been dented by inflation, amongst other. Two of the proposals put forward are also listed in the PL Electoral manifesto, these are the widening of the tax brackets and reducing corporate tax.

The SME Chamber’s proposals are more aggressive given that, since the electoral promises, the global situation has deteriorated necessitating a greater degree of intervention. In terms of widening the tax bracket, the SME Chamber believes that the non-taxable income should go up to 14,000 as opposed to the current 10,000. In terms of corporate tax the SME Chamber feels that a business tax, which does not only alleviate the tax burden on the corporates is fairer. The reduction of 25% from the current 35% does not go far enough. The government should take the opportunity to reduce tax on local businesses also to diminish the unfairness with foreign businesses coming to Malta who effectively end up paying just 5% tax, improving the competitiveness of local enterprises. Other fiscal measures that address inflation is lowering VAT on essential goods and services as well as the removal of excise tax.

A second priority is the human resource crises that Malta is facing. Shortage of labour is driving up wages, yet the quality of our workforce has dwindled. Recruitment and retention is costing more than it has ever have. The SME Chamber is proposing tackling this problem with multiple interventions, including a secondment plan from public to private sector, joint stakeholder coordination to ameliorate the process of engaging TCNs, attractive retention programmes to be able to retain the right TCNs instead of them moving to other EU countries that offer more attractive conditions, as well as the restart of modern trade schools.

The SME Chamber is cognisant that Malta’s finances are under heavy pressure and therefore we are putting forward proposals that aim to help government spend more wisely. A reform in the public procurement system would lead to greater scrutiny of how public funds are being spent and that the best quality for the cheapest price is acquired. The way public procurement is currently being handled leaves much to be desired, direct orders, going way over budgets, poor planning and strategy are leading to tax payers’ money not being used adequately as it should be.