Malta’s tax system is a progressive tax system of up to 35 per cent. Maltese citizens who are residents of Malta are subject to that system for money earned throughout the world. As an ex-pat in Malta, you can opt for a number of the special residence programmes and as as a result, 30 per cent of your tax will be refunded if the 35 per cent you paid. Consequently, ex-pats that reside in Malta are only taxable in Malta on two types of income:
One type of income is subject to Maltese income tax is income generated in Malta and the resultant capital gains. As a citizen of Malta, you will be subject to Maltese personal income tax when you’re working as an employee in Malta or when you’re operating a restaurant for the Maltese for example.
The second type of income subject to Maltese income tax is foreign income generated from overseas that is moved to Malta. Expats in Malta aren’t subject to income tax in Malta on income arising outside Malta which isn’t sent to a Malta. Expats in Malta aren’t subject to income tax on any foreign-sourced capital gains, even when they send these gains to a Maltese bank account for example capital gains made by buying and selling shares on foreign stock markets.
In Malta there is no inheritance tax on your primary residence, property tax for owning it, many people set up trusts to transfer companies to be eligible to no or low taxes. There’s only stamp duty of 1 per cent when buying a property and zero on selling your primary residence and transfers of certain shares in Maltese companies of 2 per cent.
The High Net Worth Individual residence scheme HNWI permit holders benefit from a 15% flat tax rate on foreign profits sent to a Maltese bank account and are subject to a 35% tax on income generated in Malta. Individuals holding an HNWI residence permit are able to claim 30 per cent of the tax they paid back
Value-Added Taxes on goods and services varies depending on the goods and services being purchased. These vary between nill, 5 per cent and 18 per cent. All prices quoted in Malta for any good or service is inclusive of tax. Tax on rents from properties for both residential and commercial are 15 per cent flat rate. Social security is approximately 15 per cent per annum on salaries
With all the unbelievable favourable rates on offer, this makes it a gem for an international investor who does not want all their profit to be eaten up by the taxman. Overall Malta s tax regime is highly attractive for overseas investors only paying 5 per cent on profits which is one of the main reasons why thousands of international investors have relocated to Malta besides giving them access to the European Union.