Malta CT & VAT Rates
THE SCF GROUP HAS BEEN FORMING AND MANAGING MALTESE COMPANIES FOR OVER 25 YEARS
MALTESE MANAGED COMPANIES
THE GENERAL POSITION – 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.
BASIC FACTS: In synopsis, the corporate tax rate for 2023 for Maltese companies is as follows:
STANDARD COMPANY RATES OF TAX
THE STANDARD CORPORATE TAX RATE FOR MALTA IS 35% AND IS GENERALLY BASED ON WORLDWIDE INCOME
HOWEVER, the application of the participation exemption/EU Directive 90/435, full imputation system and a full refund system typically results in an effective Maltese corporate tax rate – after the distribution of dividends – of around 6/7th of 35% being approximately 5% but it should be noted that the cost of setting up external holding companies plus extra accountancy costs do slightly push the nominal 5% rate!
For more information on Maltese Company Formation services, please speak to a tax planning consultant.
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SCF Legal & Corporate Management Services Limited
Address: 250 Kings Road, Chelsea, London SW3 5UE
Telephone: 020 7731 2020 Email: enquiries@scfgroup.com
Registration number: 05462416
© SCF INTERNATIONAL 2023
A FULL RANGE OF LEGAL, ACCOUNTANCY & COMPANY MANAGEMENT SERVICES
The SCF International specializes in providing accountancy and management services for UK and Irish limited companies, UK & Irish company management services including the provision of (where necessary) domestic directors, domestic company secretaries, registered office address services, trading offices, value added tax (VAT) registration and management, payroll (Pay as You Earn PAYE), opening up and managing UK or Irish bank account facilities, raising invoices and any and/or all other services required to establish a bone fide managed and controlled UK or Irish limited liability company.
Our in-house team of legally and accountancy qualified experts can also provide advice on current UK & Irish tax laws/provisions including anti-avoidance provisions, EU directives and regulations, the impact of BREXIT for both UK and EU based businesses and other relevant. In addition, where required the SCF Group can also set-up and arrange the management of companies in tax efficient EU based jurisdictions such as Cyprus, Luxembourg or Malta or indeed any jurisdiction in the world including those in the Middle and Far East.
Property de-enveloping services – In conjunction with leading UK firms of solicitors SCF can help transfer companies currently held by what were known as ‘offshore’ companies into either more tax efficient UK companies or directly back into the names of individual beneficial owners’ often without attracting stamp duty land tax (SDLT) but still avoiding the advance tax on enveloped dwellings (ATED).
Our fiscal migration and tax planning department is operated by qualified lawyers and accountants and can advise both domiciled and non-domiciled individuals on how to mitigate their individual and corporate tax exposure be it in the UK or abroad. Our legal & business department can provide specialized advice on all domestic and international tax planning issues but also upon ‘key’ issues such as asset protection be it in the form of trusts and private interest foundations (PIF’s). In particular, SCF can provide advice to those intending to relocate to the UK on how to do so in the most tax efficient way.