Alex Borg outlines tax incentives, housing measures and healthcare initiatives

Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg has outlined a series of proposals, including corporate tax cuts, new hospitals, and pension reforms, during a political event in Qormi on Sunday.

He addressed several concerns raised by people in a Q&A session.

"I felt it was my obligation as a politician and my obligation, especially as party leader, to come out with a set of concrete proposals that ease the burden on young people and allow them to become owners of their homes," Borg said.

Borg acknowledged that affordable accommodation has become one of the biggest obstacles for young people, describing property ownership as crucial for them to live decent lives and raise families.

The PN leader outlined a rent-to-buy scheme where rental payments would be treated as investments towards eventual home ownership rather than continuous rent payments without ever becoming an owner.

He also proposed an equity sharing model, used in other countries, where the government enters as a shareholder in properties to help with financial burdens, with buyers eventually purchasing the government's share.

Borg announced fiscal incentives on vacant properties, particularly in village cores, to encourage young people to buy houses where they can raise families rather than apartments. He said the party would continue adding schemes and fiscal incentives to help young people become property owners.

On work-life balance, Borg proposed a year of paid parental leave funded by the government, saying families should have the opportunity to enjoy their children at such a tender age.

He announced a new tax bracket for parents, guaranteeing families a grant of €8,500 in the first year for their second child.

Addressing business concerns, Borg proposed reducing corporate tax to 15% for certain industries including hospitality, catering and retail, noting the current disparity where Maltese businesses pay 35% tax whilst foreign companies pay 5%.

He also suggested cutting restaurant VAT from 18% to 7% whilst introducing electronic payment systems connected directly to the tax commissioner.

For elderly citizens, Borg promised to address pension inequalities affecting those born before 1962, calling it an injustice that must be removed.

On tourism, Borg emphasised moving towards quality rather than quantity, citing Ibiza's example where tourist numbers were halved but spending doubled. He proposed promoting Malta's gastronomy, agritourism, and culture, including opening palaces and making agreements with world-class museums to bring art collections to Malta.

Borg announced he would create a minister specifically for loneliness for the first time in Malta, saying this issue affects not just elderly people but can occur at any age and needs to be addressed nationally and holistically.

He also criticised the Labour government's agreements with foreign entities for new hospitals, promising instead that a Nationalist government would build a new state-of-the-art hospital in Malta and another in Gozo. 

He announced plans for a minister specifically for preventive healthcare, focusing on new medicines and treatments to prevent illness rather than just treating diseases.

Borg also promised continued investment in carers and care homes, aiming for every village to have a care home so elderly people can live decent lives with people taking care of them.

Addressing environmental concerns, Borg announced plans to make environmental protection a constitutional right through a private members' bill that will be put forward for discussion in parliament.

He called for serious discussion on revising local plans sustainably, promising to defend Gozo against exploitation whilst creating a skyline policy that designates where towers can be built and where they cannot.

He also announced plans to establish an aesthetics board to safeguard the aesthetics of development in the country, and criticised the Labour government for creating a board that has never been appointed.

Borg concluded by promising that the Nationalist Party would continue making necessary pressure for real reform that addresses all Maltese and Gozitan people, emphasising his commitment to see only the white and red colours of the national flag rather than partisan divisions, stating: "Together we can build a better Malta and Gozo."