A lot has happened in Malta this year, and in this article I would like to give you a brief overview of the highlights of the Maltese economic changes. Overall, it has been a very successful year for Malta and – I’m sure you agree with me on this one – I hope that the following year will continue the upward trend of success and popularity.
Tourism industry is growing
The year 2014 has been a very positive one for the Maltese tourism industry. The numbers of visitors were consistently higher than in the previous year, and not only in the summer months, but also the low season months are recording more and more visitors. Latest figures were released for October, and they showed over 3% growth compared to the previous year. The government is committed to continue moving towards an even more positive direction, and in turn, the industry and government will benefit from more visitors that will spend more money in the country.
Number of Remote Gaming licences increased
The remote gaming sector is one of the most important industries on the Maltese islands. In the interim report from the LGA was stated that the number of issued licences had risen by 25%. The report also stated that the application time had been greatly reduced and it would only take an average of 2.5 months to receive a gaming licence. The remote gaming licences from Malta are getting more and more popular, and in the next year, Gaming Malta and other organisations will further enhance the industry, promote Malta as a gaming jurisdiction, and strengthen player protection.
Malta is becoming more popular with companies
The Maltese company structure is becoming more popular since the agreement of exchanging banking information of private accounts in order to prevent tax evasion had been signed. This means that offshore accounts are not as safe anymore as they used to be, and the banking secrecy has been lifted. However, even though this does not yet affect company accounts, it might in the future be extended to company accounts as well. Therefore many companies are turning towards legal company structures to lower their tax burden, and the Maltese company model might allow for a lower tax. Company re-domiciliation to Malta is definitely going to be an a bigger issue next year.
At the office of Dr. Werner & Partner we offer complete services relating to company re-domiciliation, remote gaming licence applications and many more. If you are interested, you are welcome to take a look around or website, or you can contact us directly for a personal consultation.
