Registration Time: 09:00
Sessions Time: 09:15 - 12:30 including a 15-minute break
Speaker: Dr Robert Attard
Venue:   Online Webinar

Participation Fees 
MIA Members: €40.00
Non-MIA Members: €75.00
Retired Members: €20.00
Students: €30.00

*Group bookings for 3 or more participants available.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

This session will discuss the Maltese Tonnage Tax System (MTTS), a specialised fiscal regime introduced through L.N. 224 of 2004 and rooted in the Merchant Shipping Act of 1973, provides exemptions relating to income from shipping activities, capital gains on transfers involving licensed shipping organisations and interest linked to the financing of tonnage tax ships. These features have positioned Malta as a competitive maritime hub.
The session will also examine how subsequent amendments—particularly those introduced in 2010—expanded the regime to cover ship management and wider chartering arrangements, leading to a European Commission State aid investigation in 2012. The presentation will outline the Commission’s 2017–2018 decision and the twenty five commitments Malta implemented through L.N. 127 and 128 of 2018, including vessel eligibility restrictions, EEA flag link requirements, limitations on ancillary revenues and the removal of certain tax and duty exemptions.

SPECIFIC TOPICS TO BE COVERED DURING THE SESSION

Beyond the MTTS, the presentation will discuss international tax rules relevant to shipping (including Article 8 OECD Model), the EU Pillar 2 shipping carve out and key Maltese VAT exemptions for vessels, ship related services and chartering. These elements provide essential context for understanding today’s maritime fiscal landscape.

Why is the session of relevance to our members?

This session gives members a practical and strategic understanding of how Malta’s maritime tax framework works—and how to use it effectively.

Target Audience

Accountants, Tax advisors Legal professionals.

Speaker's Profile

Robert is  EY Malta's Tax Leader, a tenured senior lecturer at the University of Malta and a member of the European Association of Tax Law Professors. In the 2015-2017 IBFD General Report on the Protection of Taxpayers’ Rights, Robert was described as a well-known authority broadly experienced in the practical protection of taxpayers’ rights and a prominent member of the legal practice. In Malta, Robert argued cases at all levels arguing a suite of Constitutional cases (the Geranzi Case m, the Angelo Zahra Case and others) that have led to a paradigm shift relating to the legal classification of administrative penalties. He submitted arguments in the ECtHR Grand Chamber Case of Lekic v. Slovenia and forms part of the Supervisory Council of the Observatory for Taxpayers’ Rights. In 2021, the EATLP invited him to draft its submissions to the EU Commission relating to EU taxpayer protection. Having served as a panelist at the 2015 IFA Congress, he formed part of a study group of the International Law Association on the “Protection of Taxpayers’ Rights” (co-chaired by Advocate General Juliane Kokott and Pasquale Pistone). Robert is a published author on tax law publishing articles in European Taxation, EC Tax Review, World Tax Journal and the British Tax Review. Robert’s books on Maltese taxation have been cited by the Administrative Review Tribunal and the Court of Appeal (including especially the Paul Ciantar Case and Case 27/18VG involving the taxation of highly mobile workers). Robert’s most recent publication is Taxation at the European Court of Human Rights co-authored with former ECtHR judge Pinto de Albuquerque (Wolters Kluwer Law 2023). 

EVeNT CPE COMPETENCies

3  Core

WEBINARS TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Terms and conditions  apply

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Please note that all webinars are recorded by the MIA. Such recordings will be retained by the MIA for internal use.