Momentum pledges to support ‘underfunded, undervalued’ voluntary organisations

Momentum has pledged to support voluntary organisations with extended tax rebates, reformed electricity rates, and tax credit and CV-linked accreditation for voluntary workers.

In a statement Tuesday, the party said that despite voluntary organisations “carrying much of the weight that governments would otherwise have to bear themselves”, they were “underfunded, undervalued and structurally disadvantaged”.

Such organisations contribute to care services, environmental projects, sports, culture and community initiatives “that the state could never deliver on its own”, it said.

The party said that while a tax rebate scheme for donations to voluntary organisations had been in place since 2015, the scheme was confined to those in the disability, animal welfare and arts sectors.

“Every other area of the voluntary sector, from environmental work to community services to cultural heritage, is excluded from this fiscal recognition for no defensible reason”, the party said.

Momentum said that if elected to Parliament, it would push for the scheme to be extended to cover all enrolled voluntary organisations.

Advocating for reform of electricity tariffs, the party said that while in theory a reverse tariff in place for non-residents protected smaller consumers, in practice the tariff disproportionately rewarded the largest consumers.

Describing the arrangement as leading to voluntary organisations “effectively underwriting the energy costs of major commercial operators”, the party used the example of a village band club, which it said was “helping to pay the bill of a supermarket chain”.

If elected, Momentum would push for a reformed tariff structure “where the benefit is distributed fairly”.

Turning to volunteers, the party said that while involvement in voluntary organisations built skills, delivered services and maintained communities, such experience “remains almost entirely invisible on paper”.

It said it would push for a national system of accredited points for registered volunteers, linked to tax credits and formally recognised on CVs.

“For young people entering the job market, this means tangible recognition for the contribution they have already made, and a financial head start in their first working years”, the party said.

The party emphasised that the changes would mean that voluntarily giving up time would no longer be treated as a hobby, but as work formally acknowledged by society.

Momentum candidate Matthew Agius, who is seeking election in the 2nd and 8th districts, said voluntary organisations had long been praised in speeches but ignored in policy.

“PL and PN are happy to pose for photographs at fundraisers while leaving the sector to fight for every cent and absorb costs that should never have fallen on it in the first place”, he said.

“Volunteers and the organisations they run are not a free public service to be exploited. They are civil society, and they deserve a tax system, an energy system, and a recognition system that finally treats them fairly”.