Malta cuts taxes for parents in bid to revive native birth rate

Malta's Finance Minister Clyde Caruana arrives to present the government's 2026 budget speech at Parliament House in Valletta, Malta, October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi

VALLETTA (Reuters) -Malta announced tax cuts for parents of two or more children on Monday, in a government bid to counter its demographic decline.

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana told parliament that the rock-bottom fertility rate of the Mediterranean island's native population was the "biggest challenge" facing the country.