THE SCF GROUP HAS BEEN FORMING AND MANAGING MALTESE COMPANIES FOR OVER 25 YEARS

MALTESE MANAGED COMPANIES

Synopsis

The Republic of Malta consists of the islands of Malta and Gozo, is located south of Italy and north of Libya and gained independence from the UK in 1964. Notwithstanding limited resources and a very high population density, it has successfully developed itself as a holiday destination, financial and shipping centre. In particular, Malta has managed to survive the 2008 financial collapse and subsequent Euro Crisis far better than neighboring Cyprus and indeed has benefited substantially from its neighbors well known difficulties. However, its corporate tax and imputation systems are relatively bureaucratic leading to higher accountancy and administrative costs than one would perhaps expect in this part of Europe. At the time of writing, the population was 534,200 (2023) whilst the landmass 316 sq. km’s.

TAX PLANNING CREDENTIALS

Companies

At first glance the Maltese corporate tax rate of 35% does not seem to offer much by way of incentives to foreign investors. However, the local tax imputation system in effect means that distributions made to companies with an interest/participation in the Maltese company can claim back (in most cases) 6/7th of the initial amount of corporate tax paid or in simple terms, the final amount of corporate tax can be as low as 5%.The complexity of this system and the need for overhead and tax efficient legal entities may seem invasive until one takes note of the reasons why this system was set-up in the first place, which was namely to circumvent the anti-avoidance provisions of countries such as Germany where in general withholding taxes can only be avoided if the recipient country will tax its legal entities at, at least, 2/3rd’s of the applicable German tax rate. In précis, Malta has established itself as a premium tax planning centre not quite at the level of much larger countries such as Ireland or the Netherlands but nonetheless certainly as the most stable and prestigious tax planning centre in southern Europe.

* It should be noted that both Switzerland and the Netherlands do exclude Malta from their key tax treaty provisions but much more importantly China and all other East Asian countries do not.

Benefits

• Malta is an EU member state – Malta is a full member of the EU benefiting from EU Directives and Regulations such as the Parent Subsidiary Directive 90/435, which allows dividends to be paid from one EU country to another EU country without withholding taxes whilst under EU Directive 03/49 Maltese companies can also issue loans and receive interest without the normal application withholding taxes;
• Extensive Double Taxation Treaty Network – Maltese limited companies that are locally managed and controlled will benefit from some 60 double taxation treaties that Malta has with other countries;
• Malta is part of the Euro Zone – The local currency is the Euro and unlike Cyprus or Greece or Portugal it hasn’t had to have a financial bailout;
• Excellent reputation – Malta has an excellent reputation and has had few of the negative associations that other countries may have had regarding money laundering and/or tax evasion which is primarily because most of its corporate formation clients’ are West European.
• Gaming, Shipping and Aircraft Registrations – Malta offers a very attractive regulatory and registration regime for gaming, shipping and aircraft registration;
• International banks located in Malta – There is a comprehensive range of international and local banks available in Malta;
• Well educated professionals – Malta has a well-educated professionals mostly educated at UK universities;
• English is the business language – English is the dominant language in commerce throughout Malta and is spoken by almost everyone as a first language;
• The legal system is mostly common law based – The company formation legal system in Malta is common law based and very much influenced by that of England and Wales.

Double Taxation Treaty Network

The Maltese double taxation treaty network is one of the largest in southern Europe and has become a favored business and holding location for those based in the financial and/or gaming sectors.

ADMINISTRATION & ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES

Managed Malaysia Labuan Companies

The key service offered by the SCF Accountancy & Law is that of a fully managed Maltese company where-by we can register your Company, act as the daily legal and accountancy administrators, liaise on your behalf with regulatory bodies, maintain the registered office, company minutes and in fact everything necessary to provide you with a fully functional Maltese company including online banking, management and meeting rooms etc. – In fact, our Maltese managed company services are totally bespoke, according to your needs.

For more information, please contact an SCF Consultant