Malta succeeding in clamping down on VAT evasion, finance minister says

Malta is succeeding in clamping down on tax evasion, finance minister Edward Scicluna said on Wednesday.

The minister was speaking during a public consultation ahead of next month’s budget, where said that he often received emails and correspondence from people pointing out businesses or other operators who do not provide a fiscal receipt.

Scicluna said he was aware that this happened, adding that rather than the government doing nothing about this, as many people believed was the the case, the reality was that great efforts were being made to clamp down on this type of evasion. 

The minister he noted that the European Commission’s VAT gap estimates had found Malta to have significantly improved its ability to collect VAT due. In fact, Scicluna said that Malta had placed fourth best, along with Spain.

Turning to the country’s reputation, Scicluna said significant damage had been done in recent months by “Maltese who had an agenda against Malta”.

Scicluna said that everywhere he went, people asked him about the situation in Malta, while reassuring those present that the government was constantly working to repair this reputation.

The minister said that Malta had recently hosted a delegation from the International Monetary Fund, which was in Malta to assess the sustainability of the country’s economy, and even in this case, he was forced to dispel “false allegations” about Malta.

“However, the truth always comes out, and it is now started to do so,” Scicluna said. “We are repairing the damage that has been done, but it takes time and isn’t as easy as simply saying something once.”