Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Sunday assured that handouts such as the tax refund cheque would keep coming year after year. 

Addressing a political activity in Marsaxlokk, Dr Muscat said fiscal sustainability was a key plank of the government’s budget. 

“What has been given to you today can be given again in the coming years,” Dr Muscat said of the budget measures announced last week. 

Dr Muscat contrasted this approach with that taken by past PN governments, that used to spend recklessly then fall into a cycle of trying to catch up with past debts. 

During his speech, the Prime Minister gave an overview of the key measures in the 2020 budget.  

Dr Muscat said the government had been criticised for only offering free transport to elderly people over 75.

He said the government’s aim in the coming years was to offer free public transport to all people. 

Dr Muscat said pensioners had been given a €7 weekly increase in their pensions, the fifth increase in a row given by a Labour government. 

This figure given by the Prime Minister includes the annual cost of living adjustment. 

He said under the Nationalist Party, pensions had been frozen for 25 years. 

Dr Muscat said he had yet to understand what exactly the Opposition was criticising about the budget measures. 

“What is there to criticise? The lack of taxes?”, he asked. 

Dr Muscat said even “basic” tax increase on cigarettes and alcohol were being forgone. 

He said the government could have easily used the usual “excuse” of taxing more on cigarettes to discourage smoking. 

Instead, it had made a choice to not increase these taxes for as long as it was sustainable. 

The Prime Minister said the Opposition had criticised the fact that only €35 had been given to compensate for increases in the prices of daily items such as milk. 

He welcomed the fact that the country now had the luxury of speaking about how much the government was giving people, as previously, all that used to be spoken about was how much the government was taking. 

Dr Muscat said the government could have waited for the automatic cost of living increase to include the spike in milk prices. 

Instead, a decision had been taken to give a “bonus” to all families impacted by this increase, irrespective of their economic status. 

The Prime Minister also touched upon various other budget measures during his speech, such as the €300 “gift” for those adopting or having a baby, the phasing out of single-use plastics and interest-free loans on down payments for properties costing less than €175,000.