The Malta we want for our artists and creatives

This week Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced the last budget of this administration

Cearly the political message underpinning the measures foreseen for the year 2022 – The Malta we want for our children – has struck a chord with all stakeholder groups shaping our socio-economic fabric. After all, most political discourse that most countries are placing – nowadays more than ever – is an increasing emphasis on safeguarding the prospects and well-being of both present and future generations.

As stressed in this Budget, the country we want for our children is one in which honest hard-working citizens are surely bound to succeed. A social Malta that helps the most disadvantaged. A brave Malta that can stay the course, even during the worst of times. A Malta always capable of shining a light amidst the darkness by creating opportunities for everyone.

This is the country we want to deliver to all those making a significant contribution to the betterment of society through their artistic endeavours.

Make no mistake: it’s not that Malta’s progressive vision for the cultural sector has been unveiled only this week. Rather, throughout the years, Government has left a positive consequential impact on our cultural ecology.

Back in 2017, we proposed a series of new measures to further sustain the professional prospects of our creatives and their cultural entities. Now that this parliamentary term is coming to a close, we can say with confidence that we have truly delivered.

To name but a few initiatives, we paid tribute to our National Poet Dun Karm Psaila by commissioning the translation of his major works into various foreign languages. In 2018 we celebrated Valletta as a European Capital of Culture and then – following the reassuring legacy of the Valletta 2018 Foundation – we established the Valletta Cultural Agency to continue bringing our capital’s cultural heritage closer to the people. We inaugurated the

Valletta Design Cluster, a space dedicated to design and creativity at the heart of our community. Recently, the Government has also stepped in to buy properties privately leased to band clubs facing the threat of eviction. We have set up a national choir and enhanced the wherewithal of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, especially during the pandemic. We also marked a grand return for the popular Festival Kanzunetta Maltija, Mużika Mużika. Also during these disruptive months, we have put in place a generous wage supplement scheme along with twenty-six other rescue packages to help artists make up for financial losses incurred during the pandemic.

The budget for 2022 now intends to implement two further undertakings made in 2017. First of all, as from next year the income tax rate for artists will go down to 7.5%. Furthermore, for income tax purposes an averaging mechanism will be introduced to calculate full-time artists’ earnings – particularly those without regular work – over an average of three years.

After the hard lessons we learned over these last months we all gathered that now it’s time to go the extra mile. For starters, a €1 million guarantee fund will be set up to assist independent producers and promoters with otherwise irrecoverable financial losses incurred due to unforeseen restrictions on artistic events. On a similar note, the Government will also inject €2 million to strengthen the aid scheme already in place for seats that remain unsold due to such restrictions. Another €1 million will also be allotted for independent artistic projects under the realm of the Malta Arts Council.

There’s no denying that this budget reiterates my Ministry’s commitment to continue boosting the recovery of this crucial sector. Actually, the Ministry’s vision for our cultural sector has always been in line with Government’s long-term foresight for a future Malta. A Malta with brave resilient creatives who just won’t give in, even in the face of prohibitive conditions such as this pandemic. A Malta with extensive cultural infrastructures where artists can make a decent living that does justice to their craft. Above all, a Malta with strong social measures and robust cultural entities that will never let them fall behind, come what may.

Indeed, this is the Malta that we want to leave to our children and the Malta that we will keep on delivering to our current and future artists.

“This is the country we want to deliver to all those making a significant contribution to the betterment of society through their artistic endeavours.”