Maltese EU Presidency and tax practices

At the start of the Maltese EU Presidency, the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament has today presented a study on the country’s tax practices.

The study, written by the Italian-British academic, Tommaso Faccio, shows that Malta would be included in the list of tax havens if the criteria developed by the European Commission for non-EU countries were applied to the EU.

Commenting on the report, Greens/EFA economic and finance spokesperson Sven Giegold said:

"This study shows that Malta is a tax haven, according to the very criteria set out by the European Commission. The tax system in Malta is generous to say the least, with large companies routinely paying as little as five percent tax on their profits. This is completely unacceptable and raises serious questions for the forthcoming EU presidency; we note with some concern that tax legislation is not included in the Maltese programme.”

Green tax spokesperson Molly Scott Cato added:

“We urgently need more transparency in tax systems, a common tax base for corporate taxation and an EU-wide minimum rate of tax. A number of Maltese politicians are implicated in the Panama Papers scandal. We expect Malta to examine these cases properly and ensure that the European money laundering directive is fully implemented in its own country. Failure to keep their own house in order will not reflect well on their intentions for the coming six months.”

You can donwload the study here: Implications of Maltese presidency for EU tax reforms (pdf)