Measure for reduced tax duty on properties under €400,000 extended beyond July deadline

The government will be extending a COVID-19 measure for reduced stamp duty on properties not exceeding €400,000, that was set to end in July.

The announcement was made during a meeting between Prime Minister Robert Abela and the Maltese Developers Association on Wednesday at the AX Group business centre.

The delegation included top ministers like finance minister Clyde Caruana, infrastructure minister Ian Borg, environment minister Aaron Farrugia, and parliamentary secretary Chris Agius.

“I believe the environment and development sectors can live together in synergy and complement each other,” Abela told the MDA. “In our economic vision, we have always seen this balance between environmental transformation and that of development. What we have achieved in energy, we must achieve in construction.”

Abela noted that proposals launched in the Economic Regeneration Plan would move the government “towards excellence”.

“The new construction authority will be very effective in further improving the standard in this sector,” Abela said.

MDA President Sandro Chetcuti boasted of the construction industry’s direct support of the economy to the tune of 11% in gross value added. “While we must work to address environmental challenges, we must understand that development is a direct support of the economy with 11% direct value-added that can contribute to the government helping more other sectors.”

Chetcuti said acquisitions on promise-of-sale agreements had increased by €1.4 billion over thelast year, despite the pandemic.

Chetcuti said a KPMG study showed that the price of affordable homes had not risen for the first time in the last seven years, despite strong property sales. “Had we not been resilient and turned challenges into opportunities, we could have had 40,000 at risk of losing thir jobs.”