PANA Committee report confirms Malta tax system EU conformity, financial organisations say

A number of Malta’s financial-sector organisations have welcomed the PANA Committee’s validation of Malta’s tax system, which confirmed that the Maltese system conforms to international and EU standards.

In a joint statement, FinanceMalta, the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners, the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and the Gozo Business Chamber, said they acknowledged that the PANA Committee’s report confirmed Malta was not a tax haven. This was contrary to what some speakers from a number of EU countries, together with the international media, had said.

This confirmation, the organisations said, endorsed Malta’s position to remain committed to the international standards of transparency and effective exchange of information amongst jurisdictions. In this regard, the statement mentioned that Malta’s public registry was open  to scrutiny by everyone.

Malta’s tax regime respected the relevant OECD standards, the organisations maintained, as had been asserted in the OECD’s 2013 report confirming that Malta’s tax authorities have broad access to information for the purpose of exchanging information in accordance with income tax law, including bank and accounting information.

The statement pointed out that Malta’s tax system had been agreed to in 2006 with both the European Commission and the EU’s Member States within the Code of Conduct Group which checks if tax measures are harmful.

“Malta’s tax system is fully transparent and based on statutory rules rather than an administrative discretion as has been the case in certain jurisdictions,” the joint statement said, adding that Malta’s offshore legislation was repealed in 1994.

The organisations also contended that the government and industry were seeking to create new economic sectors, such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies and Fintech,

The joint statement also called on all economy and local media stakeholders to work together towards the common good of the financial industry. This is to ensure that Malta is viewed as a serious jurisdiction, with an economy driven by innovation and supported by a complex business ecosystem.