Tax practitioners in Malta are refreshingly positive at the moment, in stark contrast to their more cautious counterparts further north in the rest of the EU.The government has resisted the temptation to tinker with the tax laws, though there have been ...
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Tax practitioners in Malta are refreshingly positive at the moment, in stark contrast to their more cautious counterparts further north in the rest of the EU.
The government has resisted the temptation to tinker with the tax laws, though there have been new tax treaties agreed with China (August 2011), Bahrain (February 2012) and negotiations with Switzerland and Saudi Arabia are expected to conclude successfully soon.
"It's been a busy year – it's been a good year for Malta overall, mostly driven by foreign investment in financial services," said Conrad Cassar Torregiani of Deloitte. "There have been new opportunities, and I feel we've picked up slack from other jurisdictions."
So, what is the reasoning behind Malta's increasing appeal?
"It's familiarity I think. They [clients] have dipped their toe in the water to test and are now ready. We also have English language and a common law background, which is attractive to some," said Torregiani.
To be specific, it seems that the financial services companies, including banks, insurance companies and funds, is looking to Malta, but there are other growth areas too, such as IP.
One adviser is grateful to the government for keeping Malta so buoyant through the rough economic period: "The government did a good job keeping panic down, securing jobs and working to keep us going. We have been affected though of course, including contributing to the bailout fund which didn't have us popping champagne!" said Rosanne Bonnici, of Fenech & Fenech Advocates.
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