Chamber of Commerce – ‘serious doubts’ on golden passport scheme

The Chamber of Commerce had urged for political consensus on the Individual Investor Programme, which will sell Maltese citizenship for €650,000, after claiming that the IIP continues to have "serious doubts and unanswered questions".

The Chamber's main concern centres around the IIP's impact on the country's economic reputation, claiming that successive government went through great lengths to protect the country's reputation in sensitive sectors such as financial services.

"The Chamber believes that, as things stand, the IIP can affect Malta's reputation because it can raise questions about the soundness of the country's fiscal and financial credibility. More importantly, the Chamber believes Malta's reputation can be tarnished by the unprecedented extreme positions taken by both sides in parliament over a matter of such economic sensitivity.

"This risk has been compounded by the dangerous statements made during the debate which may lead to misinterpretation and taken out of context. Uncertainty, of course, is not conducive to investment attractiveness," the Chamber said.

The Chamber called for the roll-out of the IIP not to be rushed, even though the 2014 budgetary projections rested on the IIP's implementation, believed to be raking in €30 million within the next year.

"The Chamber believes that any attempt to force the IIP through at this stage is not in the country's long term interest. We strongly urges the country's political forces to seek common ground before proceeding any further with the IIP as this would be clearly the best outcome for the country."