Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1285850
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 SEPTEMBER 2020 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Although this newspaper is in- formed that Grech settled his pending affairs as late at 10 Au- gust, 2020, the leadership con- tender only provided MaltaTo- day with a compliance certificate from the Commissioner of Reve- nue dated 2 September 2020. While both Grech and incum- bent Adrian Delia are being au- dited by the PN's candidates commission, the party said it will not be issuing any declaration on the candidates' suitability re- sulting from its vetting of their affairs. Yet documents seen by Malta- Today suggest Grech has a prov- en record of not paying his tax bills on time – even if he has re- fused to explain why – having re- ceived a number of warnings for failing to pay his income tax and VAT, over €60,000 in total, over two decades. In June 2006, the IRD sent Grech an assessment for taxes owed for the years 1990 to 1996, for a total of Lm1,135 (€2,643.84). The IRD had warned Grech that he owed Lm31, Lm105, Lm98, Lm179, Lm191, Lm252 and Lm279 re- spectively for these years. That warning went unheeded, as in October 2006 the IRD took the matter to the Magistrate's court to procure a new warning for Grech to pay the amount due within two days or face further legal action. Six years later, in June 2012, the IRD sent Grech another assess- ment seeking his income tax for the years between 1999 and 2011 (except 1997 and 1998), for a to- tal due of €33,684. Once again, Grech appears to have ignored the IRD's warning because in October 2012, the First Hall of the Civil Court once again issued an official notice for Grech to pay the full amount due within two days. Grech did not confirm when asked how he had settled each in- dividual assessment. MaltaToday is informed the lawyer settled the full amount in monthly instal- ments but settled the pending sum in full close to the day he ap- plied to contest the PN election. MaltaToday is also informed that Grech had pending VAT re- turns that were not paid annually. For 2014 to 2019, Grech – a family lawyer – declared mod- est incomes of €37,500, €33,200, €30,900, €33,426, €31,819 and €28,790 respectively, but failed to pay the VAT he owed, over €29,000. Sources told MaltaToday that Grech agreed to another pay- ment programme, this time with the VAT Department, to repay the VAT he owed over a period of time. But again, Grech refused to explain to MaltaToday what ar- rangement he had reached to set- tle his taxes. A spokesman for the candidate would only provide a certificate issued by the Commissioner of Revenue stating that Grech has no pending tax, VAT or PE bills dated 2 September 2020 – four days ago. MaltaToday also asked Grech how, with an average annual in- come of €32,600 declared in the years 2014-2019, was the lawyer able to afford settling his VAT bill of over €29,000. No answer was forthcoming. Grech does not answer questions on his tax records Questions sent to Bernard Grech 1. In 2006 you received a notification from the IRD instructing you to settle payments for unpaid taxes for the years 1990-1996; and a second notification that year to settle, for Lm1,135: when did you settle this pay- ment to the IRD [date], and why had you not paid your taxes in these years? 2. In June 2012, you received a new IRD assessment for the years 1999- 2011 calling upon you to settle €33,684 in tax, interest and penalties, and a second notification in November 2012 to settle this amount: when did you settle this payment to the IRD [date], and why had you not paid your taxes in these years? 3. What other assessments concerning unpaid taxes are you currently settling with the Inland Revenue Department? 4. You were instructed by the VAT Department to pay unpaid dues for the years 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. When was the date that you settled these payments? What was the amount of the settlement? Why did you not settle your VAT returns in a timely manner for the years 2014 – 2019? 5. Given that your average annual declared income to the VAT depart- ment for the years 2014- 2019 was €32,600, can you explain the origin/ source of the funds that you used to settle the outstanding VAT owed to the VAT Department after 2019? Tax papers for Bernard Grech: he was first called upon to settle his 1990-1996 assessments in 2006, and then again in 2012, to settle his 1999-2011 assessments; he received two warnings to setltle his outstanding taxes. He recently had to settled an outstanding VAT bill for just over €29,000 for the years 2014-2019, but Grech did not answer specific questions from MaltaToday and instead sent this newspaper a compliance certificate from the IRD