Malta company taxation

When companies are taxed at the standard rate of 35%, following the distribution of dividends, shareholders are entitled to a refund of part or of all the tax paid by the Malta company. Generally speaking, tax refunds are available to all shareholders in respect of the distribution of all profits other than those derived from immovable property situated in Malta and those which have already suffered a final tax (such as bank interest on which a 15% final withholding tax at source has been imposed).

Therefore, though corporate taxation in Malta is relatively high (35%), shareholders are entitled to claim back part or even the whole of the tax paid by the Malta company. This is what makes the Malta taxation system attractive, ingenious and unique.

Shareholders’ tax refunds

In such a scenario, the effective tax liability is of 5%.

The above rule is subject to certain exceptions: there is one case where the Malta tax refund is higher (a full 100% refund is given) and 2 cases where the Malta tax refund is lower.

Case where the Malta tax refund is higher than 6/7

A full (100%) refund applies to a Malta holding company which derives profit/gains from a participating holding in a non-resident entity. In such cases, the Malta holding company may decide:

• a) either to apply an outright exemption for Malta tax (the Malta holding company exemption known as the participation exemption (that is it may opt not to pay the 35% tax in the first place); or
• b) to include such income /gains as part of the taxable income of the Malta company and pay tax at 35%. Following the distribution of dividends by the Malta holding company out of the referred income/gains, the recipient shareholders would be entitled to a full (100%) refund of the Malta tax paid by the company on such income/gains. This scenario could be desirable in cases where, for some reason or another, the shareholder prefers to receive a part of his earnings in refunds rather than exclusively in dividends.

Resident and non-resident Shareholders

Yes, Malta’s tax refund system applies both to resident and non-resident shareholders. However a number of claw back provisions ensure that the refund system is not attractive for resident shareholders. There is, however, an important exception to this rule when the resident shareholder is not ordinarily resident and domiciled in Malta. In this latter case the claw back provisions do not apply where the shareholding in a Malta company is held via a foreign entity. Non-resident shareholders are not taxed in Malta on the refunds they receive.

Payment of Malta tax refunds

A claim for refunds of Malta tax by a registered shareholder of a Malta company is paid by the Malta tax authorities within 14 days from the end of the month of a valid application being submitted.

Implications of Malta’s full imputation of taxation system

Non-resident Shareholder
Malta withholding tax upon distribution of dividends

Malta does not levy withholding tax on distributions of dividends to non-resident shareholders. Moreover, as long as certain conditions are met, Malta would not levy any withholding tax on payments of interest and royalties to persons not resident in Malta.

Capital gains derived by non-resident shareholders upon the sale/disposal of their Malta company

Article 12 (c) (ii) of the Income tax Act provides that there shall be exempted from tax in Malta any gains or profits accruing to or derived by any person not resident in Malta on a disposal shares or securities in a company whose assets do not consist wholly or principally of immovable property situated in Malta.

Malta’s jurisdiction to tax

Companies which are resident or domiciled in Malta but not ordinarily resident and domiciled are subject to tax in Malta:

Companies which are neither incorporated nor resident in Malta are only chargeable on Malta source income and/or capital gains. This would be the case, for instance, of a company incorporated and resident in a foreign jurisdiction which establishes a permanent establishment (i.e. a branch) in Malta.

Overseas company taxation upon Malta branch

Most frequent trading structure adopted

Malta company taxation profits generated overseas

Double taxation agreements

A double tax treaty is essentially an agreement between two countries which determines which country has the right to tax a person or company in specified situations. Therefore, the main aim of double tax treaties is to ensure that the same income is not taxed twice. Generally speaking, in terms of Malta’s double taxation agreements with other countries, when by virtue of the laws of the two contracting states a company is considered as a tax resident of both contracting states, the company is deemed to be a tax resident only in the state in which its place of effective management and control is situated, independently of where the company is incorporated.

Double tax treaties usually also provide for double tax relief so that even if income is taxed twice at least it would be possible to deduct overseas tax which has already been suffered. Moreover, Maltese legislation provides that when the terms of any double taxation agreement conflict with the provisions of domestic Maltese legislation, the terms of such agreement will prevail over inconsistent Maltese legislation.

What is the rate of VAT in Malta?

The above has dealt with direct taxation in Malta. Indirect taxation such as VAT is subject to different rules. VAT in Malta on goods and services is generally subject to a rate of 18%.

Professional Advice

For the reasons indicated above, it is highly recommended that persons wishing to open a company in Malta seek foreign professional advice especially if there is the risk that the company will be effectively managed from abroad. Generally speaking, the more substance given to the Maltese company, the less it may be seen as a tool utilised for the artificial diversion of profits from one country to another.

The Council Resolution on coordination of the Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) and Thin Capitalisation rules lays down a number of cases where, in the opinion of the EU Commission, profits are deemed to be artificially diverted.