[WATCH] Workers to receive up to €68 in tax refunds in coming days

All workers who were employed throughout 2017, including those who paid no tax, will be receiving a cheque as part of the first instalment of government's pledge to refund tax money

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna
Finance Minister Edward Scicluna
Edward Scicluna says tax refund cheques will be in the post as from Thursday

All workers who were employed throughout last year, whether on a full-time or part-time basis, will be receiving a cheque for anything up to €68 in the coming days, as part of a government tax refund scheme. 

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said this afternoon that the scheme applies to workers who, in 2017, earned up to €60,000. Those who earned the least will get a bigger refund.

“In an innovative approach, the government has decided that workers who earned up to €15,000 will receive a cheque for €68, even if they did not pay tax on their income, as in the case of minimum wage earners,” he said. 

He said that the refund for those paying 25% income would be €40. 

Scicluna said this is the first payout by the government as part of the scheme that was promised for this legislature and that is expected to cost more than €56 million. This year’s refunds amount to €11.4 million.

The second tranche of the scheme is expected to be announced in the forthcoming Budget. The electoral pledge was for a maximum refund of €200 for those on the 25% tax bracket and €340 for those on the lowest income scales.

Around 204,000 workers will benefit from the scheme. 

The minister said that workers who earned more than €60,000 per annum, which accounts for some 20,000 people, were left out of the scheme. 

“Those who only had a part-time employment last year will also be receiving the refund in full,” Scicluna said. 

He said the cheques would start to be issued as of tomorrow and were expected to reach households by the end of next week. 

A dedicated telephone line,153, has been set up for persons wanting to file grievances about the scheme.