Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1148959
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 JULY 2019 NEWS Vacancy for Executive Officer (Scale 13) & Clerks (Scale 15) with San Pawl il-Baħar Local Council Permit issued on 14th Nov 2018 A vacancy has arisen within the San Pawl il-Baħar Local Council for the posts of Full-Time Executive Officer (Scale 13) & Clerks (Scale 15). Applicants should : Clerks - Be in possession of five different subjects at ordinary level (a minimum of 'O' level passes in Grade C or equivalent), which shall include Maltese, English and Mathematics. Executive Officer – Be in possession of two different subjects at advanced level (a minimum of 'A' level passes in Grade C or equivalent) and three other subjects at ordinary level (a minimum of 'O' level passes in Grade C or equivalent), which shall include Maltese, English and Mathematics (at advanced or ordinary level). • Be Computer Literate – ECDL Level or knowledge of Microsoft Office applications. Applications, including a detailed CV together with copies of relevant certificates, should reach this office by not later than noon Wednesday 07th August 2019 and shall be addressed to: – The Executive Secretary San Pawl il-Baħar Local Council, Triq San Pawl, San Pawl il-Baħar. SPB 3411 Candidates will be required to sit for an interview. MATTHEW VELLA PORTUGAL'S chief prosecutor is investigating a tax structure used by 48 members of the Big Four auditing firm Deloitte in Portugal, to remit €53 million from Malta companies they used to pay lower taxes. The investigation comes on the back of a Mal- taFiles report by Expresso, which was provided with the shareholding structure of the Deloitte partners by MaltaToday, as part of its role in Eu- ropean Investigative Collaborations (EIC). The investigation was opened following an anonymous complaint to the Attorney General's Office (PGR), the Securities Market Commission (CMVM) and the Banco de Portugal, in Septem- ber 2017 – three months after MaltaFiles pub- lished its first stories. The tip included information as to how Portu- guese partners in the audit firm issued their bills using companies in Malta instead of Portugal. Malta allows foreign shareholders with tax-res- ident companies to book their profits here, and then enjoy a six-sevenths deduction on their full tax paid, resulting in an effective 5% tax rate here. The PGR said the information "gave rise to an investigation and is under investigation at DIAP (Lisbon's department of investigations). Pros- ecutors received details of the business accounts held in Portugal, Malta and Angola, from Portu- gal's securities commission. Using data from MaltaFiles, MaltaToday first outlined the shareholder structure of this net- work of companies in April 2016. Formally called Deloitte International Limited, the company was owned by four Maltese companies (Kane, Ramp, Primus and Monty), in turn owned by dozens of Portuguese companies. This structure enabled the Maltese companies to receive dividends from activities in Portugal and benefit from an effective tax rate of 5%. In the complaint to the Portuguese chief pros- ecutor, it was alleged that such a structure could be a crime of tax fraud, while raising ethical ques- tions about companies from Portugal's Society of Chartered Accountants actively involved in tax avoidance structures. In Portugal, MaltaFiles achieved an instant ef- fect with prosecutors discovering 100 subjects making use of tax avoidance structures through Malta. 49 subjects voluntarily registered over €31 million in income after the revelations, resulting in €8 million in recovered taxes for Portugal. Deloitte Portugal did not clarify if its partners had regularised their tax affairs following the re- ports in Expresso, and that it had not received any notice from taxation authorities. The MaltaFiles investigation involved 49 jour- nalists from 13 publications from 16 countries through the European consortium EIC - Euro- pean Investigative Collaborations. The EIC consortium in 2016 conducted the Football Leaks investigation (continued in 2018) in which it revealed how several football stars turned to tax havens to hide revenues and pay less taxes, some of them ending up delivering large millions of euros to the Spanish tax author- ities, as happened with Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal AG probes Deloitte's million-euro tax structure in Malta CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The sources said the sum floated among the investors was "far higher" than the €20.8 million the Jerma ho- tel was valued at by court- appointed architects three years ago. It is understood that the investors have signed a pri- vate agreement with Por- telli, although no formal promise of sale agreement has been entered into with the Montebello brothers, who own the Jerma. Portelli could not be reached for comment de- spite repeated attempts to contact him, including an email sent to his office last Friday. Portelli's company, J. Por- telli Projects, describes it- self on its website as dealing mainly "with the acquisi- tion, development and sale of all types of residential and commercial properties located all around Gozo and in select areas of Malta". Portelli also owns the chain of boutique hotels go- ing by the name Quaint. The Montebello brothers had to abandon plans to re- develop the Jerma site some years back after they ran into financial difficulties. A court valuation carried out in 2016 had put the value of the seafront site, which is as large as five- and-a-half football pitches, at €20.8 million. The valuation formed part of a judicial sale by auc- tion ordered by the court in a case instituted by HS- BC Bank against brothers Geoffrey and Peter Monte- bello's firm, JefPet Ltd. However, the judicial sale was suspended when de- veloper Charles Camill- eri, known as il-Franċiż, and lawyer Pierre Lofaro, through their company Porto Notos Ltd, filed a planning application pro- posing the demolition of the hotel, land reclamation works and the construc- tion of a mixed-use devel- opment consisting of three high-rise buildings. In the application, Camill- eri declared that his compa- ny did not own the land in question but had the con- sent of the owners. The plans were subse- quently amended and the application is still pending. Marsaskala is not identi- fied as a high-rise zone and the plans could meet resist- ance, although the policy regulating hotel heights allows stand-alone hotels located within the develop- ment zone to add an unlim- ited number of floors. It is unclear whether the latest move by Portelli will embrace the planning ap- plication filed by Porto No- tos and what role this com- pany will play if the investor deal goes through. Jerma owners miss deadline Meanwhile, the Planning Authority has confirmed that the current owners of the Jerma hotel have still not submitted a method statement, explaining how they intend to remove the eyesore and danger creat- ed by the dilapidated hotel along the coast. A court ruling last month, confirmed the decision of the Environment and Plan- ning Review Tribunal that upheld an enforcement on the site slapped by the Plan- ning Authority. The area has been reduced to a dump and den of abuse with residents in the area long-complaining of the danger posed by the aban- doned hotel. The court gave the Mon- tebello brothers 30 days to provide the Planning Au- thority with a method state- ment. A spokesperson for the PA confirmed that no such method statement was sub- mitted and the authority was now considering what further action it would take to ensure that the en- forcement order issued is obeyed. Sum floated is 'far higher' than court valuation