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Malta Declared To Have Characteristics Of Tax Haven By European Parliament

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Malta has been declared as having the characteristics of a tax haven after the European Parliament voted for a resolution on financial crimes, tax evasion and tax avoidance.

The report compiled by the EP’s Tax3 committee received the majority of support from MEPs, with 505 MEPs voting in favour and 63 against.

The resolution has expressly named seven countries, including Malta, Luxembourg, Cyprus, the Netherlands and Ireland in particular.

All six Maltese MEPs voted against the resolution, backing Malta’s stance against the introduction of tax harmonisation across the EU.

The vote does also agree with the European Commission’s calls to introduce a common corporate tax base in the EU, while the veto over tax issues may now also be removed.

It should be noted that the removal of the veto can only result through an unanimous approval from all member states.

The European Commission will now also conduct “fitness checks” on the laws of the member states named in the resolution to address issues over letter box companies in relation to tax fraud, tax evasion, aggressive tax planning and money laundering.

Yesterday’s debate on the resolution sparked a fiery confrontation between MEP Anna Gomes and PL MEP Alfred Sant.

Sant slammed the EU for promoting “tax populism” and “bias” against smaller member states during his intervention.

In response, Gomes asked Sant what exactly he had done to fight corruption issues in Malta, making reference to the Panama papers revelations that implicated both Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Keith Schembri.

With the upcoming MEP elections in May and an expected reshuffle across the Commission and Parliament, it is still unclear whether the tax reforms will carry over into the next legislature.

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Julian is the former editor of Lovin Malta and has a particular interest in politics, the environment, social issues, and human interest stories.

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