Government receives data from French Government regarding Swiss Leaks
The Maltese Government has said in a statement that it has today acquired from the French Government the data, popularly known as Swiss Leaks, insofar as it relates to Maltese nationals.
The data was presented in Paris in the presence of French Finance Minister Michel Sapin to the representative of the competent Maltese tax authority Aldo Farrugia, who was accompanied by the Commissioner for Revenue, Marvin Gaerty and Malta’s Ambassador to France, Vincent Camilleri.
The Government said that the process to acquire the data was set in motion by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in talks with French President Francois Hollande last month. This was followed by a formal request by the Maltese authorities following instructions by the Minister for Finance.
“This was the first formal request that Malta made to France for such data despite the fact that its existence was first made public in 2010. Back then, information from the same source had been passed by the French authorities to a number of other jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom.”
The Prime Minister has instructed the Commissioner for Revenue to start investigations on the acquired data with immediate effect, and to give these dossiers priority.
The transmission of such data is governed by the Agreement between the Republic of Malta and the French Republic for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, and by European Council Directive 2011/16/EU on Administrative Cooperation in the Field of Taxation.
The Government stated that “these legal instruments make it clear that the information provided can be disclosed only to persons or authorities, including courts and administrative bodies, concerned with the assessment or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, or the determination of appeals relating to, the said taxes.”
“As such, the Maltese authorities cannot publish the said list, in the same way as no authority in any other country published such information.”
The advice obtained by the Prime Minister from the Commissioner for Revenue states that publication would be in breach of the said instruments, would have serious legal consequences and would jeopardise future requests for information from other countries, said the Government.
The Government concluded that, “it has to be made clear that persons appearing on such a list would not have necessarily evaded tax. However the Prime Minister has in terms of Article 4 of the Income Tax Management Act asked the Commissioner for Revenue to indicate to him any politically exposed persons who may be on the list and whose position appears to be or to have been compromised with a view to considering whether the integrity of public office has been prejudiced and whether any further steps, such as a demand to relinquish their office, are to be taken.”
