MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th October, 2018) The inclusion of Malta on the OECD list of countries with the so-called residence and citizenship by investment (CBI/RBI) schemes that could potentially weaken international efforts to combat tax evasion is a "misunderstanding," the Maltese Finance Ministry said in a press release on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a list of 21 countries, including Malta, operating passport schemes that could be potentially misused to undermine the proper functioning of the Common Reporting Standards (CRS). EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova warned on Tuesday that such programs weakened EU security.
"The Ministry maintains that the listing of the Malta Programmes [Malta's Individual Investors Programme and the Malta Residence and visa Programme] can only be a result of a misunderstanding. The Ministry looks forward to further engagement with the OECD so that +a proper analysis is carried out and the Malta Programmes are removed from the stated category," the press release read.
The ministry stressed that Malta, as an EU member state, respected the bloc's directive on automatic mandatory disclosures.
"Furthermore, Malta has not only cooperated in the discussion and compilation of information on such schemes, but also made a number of commitments so as to further mitigate any potential risks. This shows Malta's commitment to ensure that the Malta Programmes are not used for the purpose of circumventing the CRS," the press release noted.
The Common Reporting Standards were approved by the OECD on July 15, 2014. The paper calls on the member states to obtain information from their financial institutions and automatically exchange that data with other jurisdictions on an annual basis.
