Updated 1150
Cabinet Approves Permanent Stamp Duty Cut on Family Business Transfers: Cabinet has approved a permanent reduction in stamp duty on business transfers between family members, cutting the rate from 5% to 1.5%. Youth Minister Omar Farrugia said the measure will facilitate the transfer of family businesses between generations. The legal notice also provides for the reduced rate to apply to heirs if a family member dies while a transfer is underway. The decision was among three electoral programme measures approved during an open Cabinet meeting. (TVM News)
Malta, Poland Seek Closer Cooperation on Trade, Technology and Maritime Sectors: Malta and Poland are seeking to deepen cooperation in trade, technology, maritime services and education following talks in Warsaw between Foreign Minister Chris Fearne and Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. Discussions covered investment, innovation, EU affairs, enlargement, cohesion funding, and the bloc’s next long-term budget. The ministers also exchanged views on security developments in Ukraine and Libya, with Malta stressing the importance of a 360-degree approach to European security. Fearne later attended events marking Malta Day and 55 years of diplomatic relations between Malta and Poland. (Newsbook)
Morning Brieifng
Council of Europe to investigate Malta’s ‘culture of impunity’
A Council of Europe delegation is expected to visit Malta within the coming months to gather evidence on the “culture of impunity” identified by the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry. Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, the British peer leading a new Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe report on Malta, said the visit could take place as soon as this autumn or early next year. The delegation will speak to people from different sections of Maltese society as part of an examination of the country’s rule of law and the implementation of reforms following the 2019 murder of Caruana Galizia. Chakrabarti said she hoped to complete the report within a year, although this would depend on cooperation and where the evidence leads. She stressed that the committee was not an appeal court over Yorgen Fenech’s recent acquittal but would examine what developments in the case indicate about Malta’s rule of law. (Times of Malta)
Government sets up fund for construction damage
The government is to establish a fund to compensate residents whose properties are damaged by construction works on neighbouring sites, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced. The Cabinet has approved the legal amendments required to create the new mechanism, which will be financed through money generated by the construction industry. Under the scheme, the government will compensate affected residents so they can carry out repairs more quickly, while the state will subsequently recover the cost of the damage. Abela said the measure would remove some of the bureaucratic procedures currently involved in seeking compensation and obtaining a remedy. The fund is also intended to encourage higher standards and greater accountability among construction operators. The Cabinet also approved changes to pension incentives for members of the disciplined services. The incentive for officers who remain in service will increase from 23% to 29%, while the non-taxable allowance for service beyond 29 years will be extended from four to six years. (The Malta Independent)
Malta urged to prepare for harsher summers and winters
Malta needs to adapt more quickly to summers and winters that are expected to become more severe, environmentalist and sustainability expert Rachel Decelis told Cabinet on Tuesday. Speaking during a Cabinet meeting at Castille, Decelis said Malta had experienced a summer of high temperatures and little rainfall and warned that future summers could be even worse. She said more investment in electricity distribution had been made, but Malta had still experienced periods without power and needed to prepare better for the coming summer. Winters also posed growing risks, she said, pointing to €120 million in damage caused by storms last year. Decelis said the effects of climate change were already being felt rather than being an abstract future threat, citing shortages of milk linked to the impact of climate conditions on cattle. She recommended reducing waste, emissions and electricity use, while calling for faster adaptation to a warmer climate. (Newsbook)
