Archive
Malta Tax & Structures
Every article on Maltese corporate tax, non-dom status, holdings, and structures: the complete archive, updated continuously.45 articles.
Malta Corporate Tax: The 35% Almost Nobody Pays
Malta's corporate tax explained by someone who has structured companies there since 2011: the 35% headline rate, the 6/7 refund yielding 5%, the new elective 15%, and which route fits which founder.
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Malta vs. Cyprus: The Unfiltered Truth About Your Next Tax Base
The debate rages on in forums, private masterminds, and hushed conversations among entrepreneurs and investors: Malta or Cyprus? Both Mediterranean islands flash the tantalizing promise of sun, sea, a
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The Malta-LLC Trap: A Seductive Tax-Free Dream That Can Become a Global Nightmare
The international tax planning world is full of seductive ideas. Few are more alluring than the combination of a US LLC and residency in Malta. On the surface, it sounds like the perfect play: leverag
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Setting Up a Foundation in Malta: The Steps, the Documents and the Deadlines
The Malta foundation setup in order: purpose or beneficiaries, the public deed and its contents, the €1,164.69 endowment, registration within three months, the beneficial owner declaration, the licensed administrator and the tax start, from the Civil Code and its regulations.
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Malta's Deficit Reached €484.8 Million by September 2026: What the Government's Own Accounts Say About Taxes in 2027
NSO News Release 198/2026: in January to September 2026 Malta's Consolidated Fund ran a deficit of €484.8 million, against €253.1 million a year earlier. Income tax brought in €349.7 million more and VAT €224.7 million more, but spending rose by €935.8 million. How that fits the Budget 2027 targets and what it means for people who moved to Malta.
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Malta's Tax Refund System: How the Shareholder Refund Works, Step by Step
Malta's shareholder refund in seven steps, from the statute: the 35% company tax, the tax accounts, the dividend certificate, registration, the 6/7, 5/7, 2/3 and full refunds, the four-year claim window and the fourteen-day payment rule.
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Malta Collected €7.47 Billion in Tax in 2025: Company Tax Has Almost Doubled in Two Years
NSO News Release 194/2026: Malta's tax revenue reached €7,471.6 million in 2025, a tax burden of 30.3% of GDP. Corporate income tax rose to €1,635.8 million, almost double its 2023 level, and households paid 54% of income tax.
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Malta Trust vs Foundation: Which One Fits Your Family's Wealth Plan
A Malta trust is an obligation on a trustee; a Maltese foundation is a registered legal person. How they differ on set-up, registration, privacy, duration, administration and tax, from Cap. 331, the Civil Code and the Income Tax Act.
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Malta Budget 2027: What the Speech Actually Announced for Expats, Retirees and Company Owners
Budget 2027 as published by the Ministry for Finance: a 25% rate for small companies on retained profits, higher non-EU work permit fees, free benefits limited to citizens, EU residents and long-term residents, pension increases, and what still needs a law.
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Taxed Twice? How Malta's 2026 Treaty Protocols With Romania and San Marino Change Tax Dispute Resolution
Two 2026 protocols remove time limits from Malta's tax treaty dispute procedure with Romania and San Marino. What changed, from when, and how to use it.
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Malta Budget 2027 on 26 October: What Expats, Retirees and Company Owners Should Watch
Malta presents Budget 2027 on 26 October. What the Pre-Budget Document and ministers have published so far, and what expats, retirees and owners should watch.
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Malta's Investor Compensation Scheme After L.N. 224 of 2026: What Investors Are Covered For, and What Licence Holders Now Pay
L.N. 224 of 2026 rewrites how Malta's Investor Compensation Scheme is funded. Investor cover stays at 90% up to €20,000, while licence holders face new fixed fees and reserves.
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Malta Transposes AIFMD II: What the July 2026 Fund Rules Mean for Managers, Promoters and Family Offices
Twelve legal notices in July 2026 brought AIFMD II into Malta's fund rules: depositaries, loan origination, liquidity tools, delegation and MFSA reporting.
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Malta's New Consumer Credit Rules From 20 November 2026: What Lenders, Fintechs and Credit Intermediaries Need From the MFSA
Malta transposed the new EU Consumer Credit Directive. From 20 November 2026, credit intermediaries need MFSA admission and lenders face new rules.
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Malta's Company Beneficial Owner Register After L.N. 184: The Check Every Existing Company Must Make by 10 January 2027
L.N. 184 and 226 of 2026 rewrite Malta's company BO register: a shortcut for simple companies, new access rules and a check due by 10 January 2027.
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Malta Extends the 1.5% Family Business Duty Rate to Transfers Cut Short by Death
L.N. 250 of 2026 lets heirs keep Malta's 1.5% duty rate on family company shares and business property when the owner died before signing the deed.
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Malta Company Tax Due 30 September 2026: Why the Payment Date Doesn't Move With the Return
Malta extended online company tax filing for 2025 year-ends to 27 November 2026. The tax itself is still due on 30 September, and interest runs monthly.
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Malta Tightens Its Trust Register (September 2026): Who Can Now See Trust Data, and What Trustees Risk
L.N. 252/2026 rewrites access to Malta's trust register under AMLD6: who counts as a beneficial owner, who may look without notice, and the new penalties.
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Malta's Gaming Tax Reset: From 1 October 2026, 15% and 10% Replace the 5% Tax
From 1 October 2026 Malta taxes gaming for local players at 15% or 10%, drops the device levy and rewrites the VAT exemption. What L.N. 84 and 86 change.
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Malta's MFSA Reform 2026: The Independence and Staff Conflict Rules Now in Force, and What They Mean for Licence Holders
Two articles of Malta's 2026 MFSA reform took effect on 28 August: a stronger independence clause and staff conflict rules. The new committees still wait.
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Fiduciary Services in Malta: What an Authorised Nominee or Trustee Actually Does for You
What a Maltese fiduciary does: holding shares or property as nominee, acting as trustee, running a foundation. Who needs MFSA authorisation, and why.
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Malta Provisional Tax 2026: What's Due on 31 August and How to Reduce the Instalment
Malta's second provisional tax instalment for 2026 is due on 31 August. How the 30% share is worked out, who must pay, and when a reduction form actually helps.
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Malta Holding Structures: What Still Works
Every week someone asks me some version of the same question: does a Malta holding company still make sense in 2026? Not the brochure version of the question. The real one, asked b
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Malta EMI Licence: Costs, Timeline, and Who Actually Gets One
Every few weeks an email lands in my inbox that reads roughly the same way: we are building a payments product, we want an EU licence, and we have heard Malta is fast and cheap. Tw
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The Best Business in Malta Might Be the One That Makes You No Money: Why Non-Doms Should Register as Sole Traders
Registering as a sole trader in Malta saves a non-dom nothing in tax. Do it anyway. Bank credibility, EU-wide healthcare, and full system access explained.
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The Thirty-Eight-Million-Euro Sentence: Malta, Brussels, and the One Law Left Unwritten
Brussels released €18.9 million to Malta but withheld €38.17 million over milestone 6.36, the anti-conduit tax reform that could reshape passive payment flows.
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Bernie Sanders Accidentally Wrote Malta's Best Sales Brochure
A US entrepreneur hears Bernie Sanders rage about Abbott and Thermo Fisher shifting billions to Malta, and leans in instead of recoiling. Here's how the Malta 5% structure really works, why it's legitimate, and what it actually means for an individual American founder.
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Two Doors in Valletta: Malta's €5,000 Non-Dom Setup, the 15% Special Status, and the Certificate Almost Nobody Ever Needs
A Malta adviser on why the €5,000 non-dom model beats the 15% programme, why special status will not hand you a tax residence certificate, and what actually does.
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The Malta Company Tax Trap: What Happens to Your 5 Percent Structure When You Move to America
Your Maltese 5% company is built for a European resident. The day you become a US tax resident it can flip into a CFC, GILTI and PFIC trap. Here is the fix.
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Malta Double Tax Treaties: How the 78-Treaty Network Really Works
Malta has 78 double tax treaties in force, including the UK, Germany and the USA. How the network interacts with the refund system, the remittance basis and the MLI.
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Why Malta Has No Wealth Tax, No Inheritance Tax, and No Capital Gains, And Whether That Can Last
Malta has no wealth tax, no inheritance tax, and no capital gains tax on most personal disposals. Is that durable? An honest analysis of the threats and the structural defences.
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Malta's Art Market: Buying, Selling, and Holding Fine Art as a Tax Resident
How Malta's non-dom regime and remittance basis treat fine art, collectibles, and cultural assets. What HNWI collectors need to know before they move.
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The Malta Financial Services Authority: What the MFSA Is, What It Regulates, and How Licensing Really Works
Most people who look up the Malta Financial Services Authority want the answer to one of two questions. Is the MFSA a serious regulator? And could it license my business? I have be
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The Maltese Foundation: Estate Planning, Asset Protection, and the Structure Nobody Talks About Enough
The Maltese Foundation is one of the most powerful and underused structures in Malta’s legal toolkit. It is not a company. It is not a trust, though it borrows from trust law. It
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Yacht Registration in Malta: The EU Flag, the Tax Advantages, and How It Works
Malta is the largest ship registry in Europe. The Malta Ship Registry, administered by Transport Malta, holds approximately 90 million gross tonnes of shipping, making it one of
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Malta’s Substance Requirements: What OECD and EU Compliance Actually Demands
Substance is the word that has transformed international tax planning over the past decade. Before BEPS: the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project, launched in 2013 and
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iGaming, Fintech, MiCA, and Why Malta’s Position as Europe’s Digital Hub Is Not Going Away
Malta became the world’s first jurisdiction to comprehensively regulate online gaming in 2001. Twenty-five years later, it is still the dominant EU licensing jurisdiction for iGami
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Malta vs. UAE: Two Very Different Bets for the Globally Mobile
The two jurisdictions that come up most often when high-net-worth individuals from Britain, Ireland, Australia, and Scandinavia are making a residency decision are Malta and the UA
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Malta’s Crypto Tax Framework: 0% on Capital Gains, If You Structure It Right
Malta’s position on crypto is one of the most misunderstood in the world. “Malta is a crypto tax haven”: you will read this online constantly. It is not exactly wrong, but it is n
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Setting Up a Limited Company in Malta: Step by Step
Setting up a limited company in Malta, explained by someone who has done it since 2011: MBR fees, share capital, directors, the new audit exemption, tax registration, and the banking reality.
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Leaving Britain, Ireland, or Australia for Malta: What the Tax Man Wants on the Way Out
Moving to Malta is not just about what happens when you arrive. It is about what happens in the country you leave.
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The Malta Holding Company: Participation Exemption, Dividends, and When It Actually Makes Sense
The Malta holding company is one of the most talked-about structures in international tax planning. It is also one of the most misunderstood. People hear “5% effective tax” and “EU
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Malta’s 2026 Budget: What the Tax Changes Mean for You
Every October, the Maltese government presents its budget for the following year. The 2026 budget, presented in October 2025, introduced a set of changes that matter for both inc
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Banking in Malta: The Brutal Truth for New Residents and Foreign Companies
Nobody warns you about the banking. The tax articles, the residency guides, the property brochures: they all skip it. Then clients arrive in Malta, incorporation done in three day
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Malta’s Non-Dom Regime: The Last Real Remittance Basis Left in the EU
In April 2025, the UK abolished its non-domicile regime. After decades as the world’s most famous remittance-basis jurisdiction, Britain shut the door.
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