Malta Business Bureau and BOV sign collaborative agreement

The agreement was signed by MBB President, John A Huber, and BOV Chief Executive Officer, Tonio Depasquale.

Economic Impact Assessments (EIAs) play a very important role in providing evidence-based conclusions derived from studies on various economic issues and provide policy makers with a realistic picture of the effects that certain proposals and decisions can have on the local economy.

“These Economic impact assessments will assess the extent of change expected through the introduction of EU directives,” Depasquale said.

“The EIAs will be the result of extensive technical work and research by analysts and decision-makers, and will assist local businesses to pro-actively anticipate the element of change that will result from the new directives thus safeguarding business activity in Malta.”

“We are confident that the findings of these assessments will assist government and the EU policy makers in adapting the policies and directives to suit the conditions of our country”, concluded Depasquale.

John A. Huber expressed his satisfaction that such a prestigious corporate organisation has agreed to join forces with the MBB for the successful execution of technical economic impact assessments that will be highly beneficial to the local business community: “The Malta Business Bureau is proud to be associated with one of the major and most established financial institutions in Malta.

Bank of Valletta is not only a major business organisation in its own right, but through its wide range of clientele is an enterprise that helps other businesses flourish, through various credit and loan facilitation schemes that it offers to SMEs.

This confirms that both BOV and MBB are both intrinsically interested in the development and the safeguarding of business activity in Malta, thus establishing a formal collaboration agreement with the Bank on economic impact assessments was a natural step forward.”

He continued to say that it is in the interest of both the MBB and BOV to see that any policy developments taking place at EU level are clearly explained to local business. “The tangible effects that result from the studies will be presented by both organisations to the Maltese Government and EU institutions respectively.”

The MBB believes that through the commissioning of such studies, it will be safeguarding Maltese business interests by drawing the attention of both EU and national public authorities to certain decisions that may hinder the competitiveness of particular sectors.

It was also revealed during the event that the first joint impact assessment will focus on the effects that the proposed Common Corporate Consolidated Tax Base Directive (CCCTB) would have on local businesses, particularly foreign firms operating in Malta, as well as the general economy at large. This topic was selected for study since the Maltese business community has expressed its reservations on the CCCTB proposal as it currently stands.

The results will demonstrate how Malta’s competitiveness will be affected by the Directive as proposed by the European Commission. They will also provide an indication of the impact on Government’s fiscal revenue streams and of those sectors in the services industry that will be impacted most as well as the extent of the impact.