Increase in COLA should not be taxed, Grech tells government ahead of Budget 2025

Nationalist leader Bernard Grech has reiterated calls by the Opposition for government to not tax the increase in COLA.

He was speaking in Bormla during a Nationalist Party event ahead of Budget 2025 on Monday. Grech explained the vision of a new Nationalist Government “for a Malta that continuously renews, develops, and grows.”

“Government needs to give the country a clear economic direction,” the Opposition leader said to supporters present at the event. 

He said government is overwhelmed and lacks a long-term economic strategy. “Monday’s Budget will see reactive measures and not visionary ones.”

The Nationalist leader also said “Malta is still a young country”, and still has the potential to grow. “But for the country to fulfil its potential, it must be led by competent people.”

Speaking on Budget 2025 said measures put forward by the Nationalist Party will continue to prioritise people’s wellbeing and prepare the country’s for future generations. 

He said they will also be included in the PN’s electoral manifesto which will be drawn up by University lecturer George Vital Zammit. 

“This program will be the result of extensive consultation with many people who are coming forward and others who are being approached by the Partit Nazzjonalista,”  he said. 

The dialogue meeting in Bormla was also addressed by Dr Amy Camilleri Zahra, Lecturer at the University of Malta; and by Josef Vella, CEO of UĦM Voice of the Workers.

Josef Vella said quality of life also means that you can also find time to spend with your family. Vella mentioned that before discussing new niches in the economic sector, the country needs to strengthen the economic sectors it currently has.

He emphasised the need for vocational training for young people before traditional Maltese trades are lost.