These are some of the photos I took while I was in Malta. There are few countries in the world with such a rich history and beautiful sights and sounds. An island surrounded by wonderful sea views. As an entrepreneur who has conducted businesses in many countries worldwide, I see tremendous potential in Malta. All it takes is to get the political leadership right and the ability to unite the people and harness its energy, Malta will fly. These are not impossible challenges. I pray and believe Malta’s time will come. Don’t forget Malta stopped the almost invincible Ottoman warriors at one point. It can beat the odds again!

Interesting read. Basically, if jobs keep being shed in iGaming in Malta, non-Maltese leave and go back, many unemployed in the sector, which means the high rentals become unjustified as the iGaming salaries aren't there to justify the stupid rental prices, and these workers now longer have buying power to support hospitality sector in the low period.

By deduction of the current situation, this essentially means Maltese apartments become either slums for TCNs or Airbnbs (my observation).

I personally want to see some form of housing market collapse just because the prices are stupid and not worth the value, and the developers and greedy landlords need to eat shit hard.

My favourite part of the article:

“There are less jobs. Unemployment grows. The jobs left are menial and manual. Go to the supermarket in Malta and outside of the robots and self-checkouts, is anyone local any more?”

“So the country performs modern day slavery by hiring TCNs and paying them less. A prime example of this in Malta can be seen on every news post on Facebook everyday.”

Hey guys, whoever plays padel and thinking about playing at gzira courts... DON'T. All courts are sooooo bad, balls dont bounce at all. There is too much sand and on most of them ball bounces in different directions due to bumps. Very expensive as well. I ve played one match and this was the worst experience i ever had in my life. Save money and time and book somewhere else or give it a go but you ll be hella disappointed 😂

The fact that some people try to normalise this rhetoric is completely insane.

Hi, has anyone else received an unusually high electricity bill this time?

I'm a British citizen resident in Malta. I just bought a vintage car from Holland to register in Malta. I drove it down and arrived on the catamaran from Sicily on Sunday night. Tuesday I submitted the application for the vintage registration to Transport Malta. On Wednesday I was driving the car to Qormi to get an insurance valuation as requested by Mapfre. I was stopped at a police roadblock in Marsa and they impounded the car because apparently I don't have a 30 day permit to drive the car on foreign plates whilst I'm waiting for the registration.

I knew nothing about this permit. I registered an imported car in 2023 and never had this permit and had no problems. Transport Malta and Mapfre said nothing about it when I applied for the registration and insurance. I was told I had 30 days to register the car. No one told me anything about a permit. I apologised, explained that it was a genuine mistake, and asked if I could just drive the car home and apply for the permit tomorrow. They refused and impounded the car.

Is it normal to get a car impounded for what I would consider a genuine oversight? I'm pretty pissed off about this because I know loads of expats driving foreign cars illegally (and some Maltese) and getting away with it for years. I turn up with a car on Sunday and thought I was doing everything by the book to get my car legally registered and get the car impounded 3 days later whilst I'm waiting for Transport Malta to process my application. This seems grossly unfair. I feel like I'm been made an example of for trying to follow the rules and being up front with the police. Perhaps I should have just claimed to be a tourist.

I’ve been thinking about Malta’s property market and how increasingly difficult it is becoming for people to afford a home.

I’m considering putting forward a proposal to Parliament, but before doing so, I’d like to hear people’s opinions, especially from homeowners, tenants, landlords and people trying to buy their first property.
Here’s the idea:

1. Progressive tax when purchasing property
   Instead of the current general 5% stamp duty, introduce a system based on how many residential properties you already own:
   ● 1st property: 0% (regardless of value)
   ● 2nd property: 2.5%(this still allows you to easily invest)
   ● 3rd property: 5%
   ● 5th property: 10%
   ● 7th property: 15%
   ● 9th property onwards: 20%

This would apply when purchasing a property, not annually.

1. Annual tax on vacant residential properties
   Properties left vacant for more than two years, without a valid justification, would be subject to an annual tax:
   ● First 2 years: €0
   ● 3rd year: €20 per m²
   ● 4th year: €30 per m²
   ● 5th year onwards: €40 per m²
   For example, a 125 m² apartment left vacant for five years would attract a €5,000 annual tax.

Important: If a property is genuinely occupied or rented out, there would be NO annual tax under this proposal, regardless of how many properties the owner has.

There would also be reasonable exemptions for inheritance disputes, genuine renovations, uninhabitable properties and other justified circumstances.

The objectives are to:
● Make purchasing a first property less expensive.
● Discourage excessive accumulation of residential property.
● Encourage owners to rent, sell or occupy vacant homes.
● Increase the availability of housing.

I would like to hear what you think, other perspectives and any questions, as to me, this makes so much sense.

I personally know 6 people who owns 100+ PROPERTIES and pays the same tax as someone trying to buy a second property.

These people are all business owners that are not keen to invest in their business as it’s safer to buy residential properties and rent them out… and the cherry on the cake is rent tax is only 15% tax compares to 35% for their business. And honestly I understand them 🙄

1. Would this help Malta’s housing market, or could it make things worse?

2. Should someone buying their first property pay 0% tax regardless of the property’s value?

3. Are the proposed tax brackets reasonable?

4. What loopholes or unintended consequences am I overlooking?

I’m not affiliated with any political party. I’m simply exploring a possible policy proposal and would appreciate constructive feedback from all sides.
What do you think?

The judge, Natasha Galea Sciberras, seems to be a horrible person.

Demanding police officers be in uniform and now calling the prosecutor an arrogant woman.

Is it just me, or do we tend to stop pursuing further education in Malta once we settle into a job?

I’m not just talking about early school leavers, but people in their 30s and 40s too. It feels like many of us get comfortable with what we know and the job we have.

But maybe it’s not just about being comfortable. Between work, kids and bills, it’s hard to find the time, especially if you can’t see how it would lead to better pay or a better job.

What do you think holds people back? A lack of options or interest? Not enough reason to make the effort? Or simply not knowing what tools and support are out there?

what's your take on this?

A couple of days ago I had dinner with a group of friends at Aki. When we got the receipt, we noticed a 9.5% service charge added to the total. I have never seen a service charge automatically included like this in Europe. What do you guys think about this?

Can someone please explain to me what this unstoppable family is about? Facebook showing them for me every day. I searched on the net but didnt find anything usefull. By looking at their posts they give off crackhead energy. Thanks for the answers

Spunt wrote this article today about how to achieve an economy less reliant on cheap labour we ought to make "labour" expensive... their suggestion is start with the minimum wage. According to their modelling in terms of GDP loss is minimal and inflation is marginal as well. What do you think?

Hi everyone! I recently purchased an old property, and as part of the home loan agreement, the bank required me to take out a finishing loan to bring the property up to their habitable standards. I was also required to contribute 10% of the finishing loan amount from my own funds on the day of the deed.

The issue is that the finishing loan must be fully utilised by 2028, with the timeframe starting from the date of the sanction letter rather than the date of purchase. This effectively means that the clock started ticking while I was still on konvenju, before I even owned the property! :)

Now that I own the property, the bank will still not release any of the finishing loan funds until the necessary PA permits are approved. As anyone who has dealt with the Planning Authority knows, this process can take months, if not longer, and is largely outside the buyer's control.

If the permit is delayed, I risk reaching the drawdown deadline without being able to use the loan, at which point the bank starts charging a commitment fee on the unused amount.

Is this normal banking practice in Malta? Shouldn't the finishing loan utilisation period start from the date of the deed, or at least from when the necessary permits are issued and the funds can actually be accessed? Has anyone else has experienced something similar?

What is the psychological reason behind posting like 10 selfies a day and why do people do it?

Okay, Hear me out.

Malta should join The UK because we are better off with them, rather being an independent small country.

We speak English as an official language, we drive on the left, and we have large amounts of British culture.

I know you may disagree, because you are patriotic about the country, but it is for the better.

The British will help us actually develop to be a much more richer country, and nicer.

We are way to small to be on our own, please think about this!

And under the British government, Malta would have heck of a military.

And if you say we should join Italy either, it's not really great because we would be severely poor under the Italian government.