Tax & VAT News
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Tax & VAT News
Latest news relating to Tax and VAT in Malta. Click below and contact us if you need any additional information.
The Tax Treatment of Highly Skilled Individuals Rules
The Tax Treatment of Highly Skilled Individuals Rules have recently been published on 23 January 2026 under legal notice 20 of 2026. Similar to existing incentive regimes, this framework introduces a 15% flat tax rate on qualifying employment income, reinforcing Malta’s position as an attractive hub for highly skilled professionals.
New tax rates 2026
The Malta Tax & Customs Administration (MTCA) has officially published the individual tax rates for 2026, implementing the measures announced in the latest Budget.
The 2025 Update to the OECD Model Tax Convention
The OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital (the OECD Model) is a flagship publication used by both OECD Members and non-Members as a basis for negotiating, applying and interpreting bilateral tax treaties. It plays a key role in removing tax-related barriers to cross border trade and investment, helping to prevent tax evasion and avoidance, and providing a means to settle on a uniform basis the most common problems that arise in the field of international juridical double taxation.
Review of the VAT treatment of Transfer Pricing Adjustments
Transfer Pricing (TP) sets prices for transactions between related entities within multinational groups. OECD guidelines enforce the Arm’s Length Principle to prevent profit shifting and ensure taxation where value is created. TP adjustments, whether taxpayer-initiated or imposed by tax authorities, must be assessed for VAT when a direct link exists between a supply and consideration. Recent CJEU rulings confirm VAT neutrality, require substance-over-form analysis, and allow proportional documentation requests, making case-by-case evaluation essential.
Tax Deduction for business permits, concessions, and commercial leases
Effective 1 January 2025, under the Budget Implementation Act 2025, any person carrying on a trade, business, profession, or vocation may claim a tax deduction for capital expenditure incurred to acquire a business permit, concession, or commercial lease, provided these are used to generate taxable income.
15% Tax Rate under Article 56(17) of the Maltese Income Tax Act
The Maltese Income Tax Act contains various provisions aimed at ensuring equitable taxation while promoting economic competitiveness. Among these, the provisions of Article 56(17) provide a special regime for employment income earned under contracts requiring duties to be performed wholly or mainly outside Malta.
Final Income Tax Without Imputation – Election Form and Regulatory Overview
The Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA) has announced the availability of the Election Form through which entities may opt to be taxed under the Final Income Tax Without Imputation Regulations, 2025 (“the Regulations”). The deadline for submitting the election form for the Year of Assessment 2025 is 28 November 2025.
Webinar | CBAM: practical insights and future outlook
Latest from the Court of Justice of the EU
Our Senior VAT advisor, Joseph Sammut, analyses the recent judgement by the Court of Justice of the EU, and gives his insight into these conclusions.
The Business Development Scheme
On 19th April 2024, Malta Enterprise published a new incentive called the Business Development Scheme. This schemes aims to facilitate value-added projects, including new business initiatives, start-up, expansions and transformation activities that contribute to the regional development of Malta. It will remain open until 30th September 2030.