Background information

The Government announced that two cheques were to be distributed amongst the population of Malta. The original reason for these cheques, according to the Prime Minister, Robert Abela, was to stimulate economic growth in all sectors and alleviate rising inflation in view of the impact of COVID-19. As war broke out in Ukraine, these were repackaged by the Labour Party (PL, Partit Laburista), the party in Government, as a measure to cushion the economic blow of this war.

One cheque, initially termed the 'stimulus cheque' and later being referred to as the 'one time bonus cheque 2022', was to be sent to workers, students, pensioners and people on social benefits.

A second cheque, known as the 'Tax Refund Cheque' was sent to those in employment.

The distribution of these cheques were criticised by Malta's main opposition party, the Nationalist Party (PN, Partit Nazzjonalista) stating that these were an election gimmick and an attempt to buy votes: a general election was due on 26 March 2022. The Government however denied this and highlighted that tax rebate cheques had been distributed annually between 2018 and 2021.

Content of measure

In terms of the stimulus cheque (or one time bonus), workers and students received a €100 cheque, while pensioners and people on social benefits received a €200 cheque. Whilst it was initially announced that all adults in Malta would receive the stimulus cheque (or one time bonus), this was not distributed to individuals who had an annual income in excess of €60,000.

In terms of the tax refund cheque, the amount distributed depended on one's annual income. Those who paid tax by means of the single tax computation could receive a refund ranging between €60 and €125. For those using a married tax rate, refunds could range between €65 and €140. Finally, those making use of the parent's tax computation could receive a tax refund of between €60 and €135. Those earning €60,000 were not eligible to receive this cheque.

In practice therefore, workers earning below the benchmark of €60,000, received two cheques.

Use of measure

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced that 243,000 people would benefit from the tax refund cheque, with the measure costing € 25.5 million.

In terms of the stimulus cheque, this was distributed to around 361,000 individuals, with the measure costing €48 million. Of these, 24,000 individuals on social benefits and 94,000 pensioners received €200. Furthermore, 240,400 workers and students received a cheque for €100.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Applies to all workers	Does not apply to businesses	Other groups of citizens Pensioners Students People on social benefits People on low incomes

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

Social partners do not appear to have been involved in designing, implementing or monitoring this measure. No evidence was identified that the measure was requested by social partners or that social partners were contributing to the measure.

Views and reactions

The measure was criticised by Malta's Women's Lobby, which stated that the stimulus cheques were discriminatory. The lobby noted that the terms and conditions of the measure excluded women who were not in employment but who carried out unpaid work in their family.

The measures were also criticised by the Nationalist Party (PN), Malta's main opposition party which referred to the measure as a vote buying exercise.

Sources

• 14 March 2022: Times of Malta - Cost of living cheques in the mail as minister denies vote-buying (timesofmalta.com)
• 14 March 2022: TVM - 243,000 people will receive refund and stimulus cheques (tvmnews.mt)
• 17 March 2022: Malta Today - PM: Economy needs €100 vouchers to recover from COVID pandemic (www.maltatoday.com.mt)
• 21 March 2022: Government of Malta - One time bonus cheque (www.servizz.gov.mt)
• 21 March 2022: Government of Malta - Tax refund cheque (www.servizz.gov.mt)
• 23 March 2022: Newsbook - Malta Women’s Lobby deems stimulus cheques ‘discriminatory’ (newsbook.com.mt)