Malta introduces tax breaks for families with two children due to "ethnic extinction"

Malta has announced tax incentives for parents with two or more children to boost the birth rate and combat the demographic decline. About writes Reuters.

During his speech in Parliament, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana called the extremely low birth rate among Malta's indigenous population the country's "greatest challenge."

"We need to encourage more families to have at least two children," Caruana said.

According to Eurostat, in 2023, the fertility rate in Malta was only 1.06 children per woman, the lowest among EU countries.

Under the new scheme, parents of two or more children will not pay income tax on the first 18,500 euros of income from 2026. By 2028, this benefit will increase to EUR 30,000 per person. The tax benefits will be extended until the child's 23rd birthday.

Back in September, Maltese Catholic Archbishop Charles Sikluna warned of Malta's "ethnic extinction". Although the country is densely populated, with about 1,704 people per square kilometer, almost a third of the population consists of foreign workers and their families.

Caruana also said that Malta's indigenous population currently stands at 406,000, of which 24% are over 65.

• On July 1, it was reported that Italy will issue almost 500,000 work visas to foreigners due to the demographic crisis.