Budget 2023: €40 Million Fund For Malta’s Small And Medium-Sized Businesses
A €40 million fund for cash grants for small and medium businesses will be introduced next year, according to the government’s budget for 2023.
The fund will mostly be targeted at new businesses setting up their operations in Malta. However, it will also be used to mitigate transport costs mitigated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war.
Businesses will also be able to access rent subsidies, while social enterprises will receive a tax credit of up to €70,000 over three years.
When it comes to start-ups, a one-stop-shop and incubation centre will be established to assist them.
It remains to be seen whether the business community at large will embrace the measures, particularly given the €9.90 cost of living adjustment (COLA).
Set through a mechanism that was established in the early 1990s following an agreement by social partners, the COLA has so far fluctuated between a low of 58c a week (2015) and a high of €5.82 a week (2010).
However, as a result of the ongoing global cost of living crisis, it has increased substantially for the first time in years.
A survey by the Malta Employers Association among 330 employers, reflecting around 400 companies, found that only 28% expect to absorb the costs of the COLA themselves.
Half of them will partially increase their prices to cover the increase in cost, while 22% will pass the entire cost to consumers.
What do you think of the measure?
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