PN against tax amnesty that ‘awards abuse’

An amnesty that allows defaulters to offset outstanding tax dues with property taxes they owe “awards abuse and is discriminatory”, the Nationalist Party said.

The PN said on Tuesday that the legal notice published by government was “a slap in the face to all those who paid every cent due in taxes”.

The party said it will be presenting a parliamentary motion to cancel the legal notice, which has been heavily criticised by several business lobby groups.

“The amnesty awards abuse without distinguishing between, genuine cases of people who have fallen back on tax payments because of temporary problems… and less genuine cases,” the PN said, calling on government to withdraw the amnesty.

The Opposition’s call comes on the back of serious concerns raised by several lobby groups over the new rules.

The amnesty was slammed by the Chamber of Commerce as discriminatory, while both the Malta Institute of Taxation and the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners called the rules “undesirable and untenable”. The Malta Developers Association also disassociated itself from the changes, saying they created an uneven playing field.

The Opposition questioned the motivation behind government’s decision at a time when it is committed to combat tax evasion to get Malta off the greylist. “Who does government want to favour to be ready to introduce such a measure that goes against the action plan agreed with the FATF to get Malta off the greylist?”

The PN said the amnesty was unacceptable and would further damage the country’s reputation.