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WATCH: ‘Malta Attracted Lufthansa, Why Can’t We Get Facebook Too?’

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Malta has what it takes to attract Big Tech companies like Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon to its shores, Shadow Finance Minister Mario de Marco has insisted.

“Did anyone think we would manage to bring Lufthansa Technik here thirty years ago? But we got them. The only limitation we have is our physical size as a country, but with digital technology you can be as large as you want to be,” de Marco said during an interview on Lovin Daily.

PN leader Bernard Grech recently pledged to remove taxes for tech companies who reinvest their profits in their businesses, a decision he said will attract some of the world’s largest tech companies. Finance Minister Clyde Caruana has dismissed the proposal as a pie-in-the-sky idea.

This is despite the fact that 136 countries, including Malta, recently agreed to plans to impose a 15% global minimum corporate tax rate by 2023, a move which is expected to hit the same digital giants which Grech is targeting.

De Marco insisted that trying to attract Big Tech companies will be a more successful strategy than the government’s now-infamous attempt to turn Malta into the ‘Blockchain Island’ of the world.

“You need to study things well but the government didn’t speak to the banking industry before launching Blockchain Island,” he said. “The banks had no appetite for risks and didn’t want to have anything to do with cryptocurrency companies, so the companies eventually decided to call it a day.” 

“With all due respect, Apple is not a crypto [sic] but a respected giant, same with Facebook and Google. They’re not high risk. When the government wanted to launch the Blockchain Island, it was looking at cryptocurrency in an era when cryptocurrency was not regulated.”

Cover photo: Right: Mark Zuckerberg (Photo: Anthony Quintano via Flickr) 

Do you think Malta should try to attract Big Tech companies to its shores? 

READ NEXT: WATCH: Maltese Who Moved Overseas Should Be Enticed Back Through Tax Exemptions, PN MP Proposes

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

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