Momentum proposals: Recognising and rewarding Malta’s volunteers

Voluntary organisations carry much of the weight that governments would otherwise have to bear themselves. They run care services, environmental projects, sports clubs, cultural initiatives, and community work that the state could never deliver on its own. Yet the same governments that rely on this work have kept the sector underfunded, undervalued, and structurally disadvantaged. Tax rebates are restricted to a narrow handful of causes. Electricity tariffs effectively make small voluntary organisations subsidise the largest commercial operators. And the time people give as volunteers, sometimes thousands of hours over a lifetime, leaves no formal trace anywhere. Momentum will change that.

Today, as part of its daily manifesto series, Momentum announces three concrete proposals to give voluntary organisations and the people who power them the recognition, the resources, and the fair treatment they have long been denied.

Extend the tax rebate scheme to every enrolled voluntary organisation

A tax rebate scheme for donations to voluntary organisations has existed since 2015, but it remains limited to organisations working in disability, animal welfare, and the arts. 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. Momentum in Parliament will push for the scheme to be extended to cover every enrolled voluntary organisation, so that citizens who donate to any legitimate cause receive the same recognition under the tax system. Civil society should not be ranked by ministerial preference.

Reform the non-residential electricity tariff so small organisations stop subsidising large commercial users

Voluntary organisations already benefit from a reverse tariff that applies to all non-residential electricity meters. In theory, this protects smaller consumers. In practice, the structure of that tariff disproportionately rewards the very largest consumers of electricity, which means small voluntary organisations are effectively underwriting the energy costs of major commercial operators. A village band club is helping pay the bill of a supermarket chain. Momentum in Parliament will push for a reformed tariff structure where the benefit is distributed fairly, so that local voluntary organisations are no longer cross-subsidising the country’s biggest commercial energy users.

Accredited points for registered volunteers, linked to tax credits and CV recognition

Volunteering builds skills, delivers services, and holds communities together, yet it remains almost entirely invisible on paper. Momentum in Parliament will 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. For everyone else, it means that giving your time is no longer treated as a hobby the state happens to be grateful for, but as work that society formally acknowledges.

“For too long, voluntary organisations have been praised in speeches and 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. 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,” said Dr Matthew Agius, Momentum’s candidate in the 2nd and 8th districts.

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