Budget 2017 date set for October 17

The government will be presenting its budget for 2017 on October 17, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has told the national broadcaster.

This is the second time that Malta’s budget will be published in October – a month earlier than usual – aligning Malta’s budgetary timelines with the European semester.

Next year’s budget will be targeting ‘prosperity with social justice’, which according to the minister means that the government will further reduce the deficit while maintaining a social conscience and guaranteeing a decent standard of living for everyone.

The social partners have been submitting their proposals, making their recommendations to the Finance Minister as to what should be a priority.

The government's deficit at the end of 2015 was below the European average and is expected to be maintained this year as well. The real GDP growth levelled off at slightly more than 5% in the first quarter of 2016, down from 6% registered in the second quarter of 2015.
As for the government's expenses, the finance minister has said the recurring expenditure for the first six months of this year were €13 million less than budgeted.

Further news reports related to Budget 2017 can be found on maltatoday.com.mt under the category, ‘Budget 2017’