Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1442202
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 JANUARY 2022 NEWS 432 new COVID-19 cases were registered on Tuesday, figures published by the Health Ministry show. Three deaths were registered in the last 24-hours, two men aged 77 and 81, and an 81-year-old woman, bringing the total number of deaths to 492. Active cases stand at 13,614 after 868 recoveries were reg- istered. There are currently 126 coronavirus patients being cared for at Mater Dei Hospital, of which nine are in the ITU. Until yesterday, 1,139,366 vaccine doses were adminis- tered, of which 282,983 were booster doses. COVID-19 Three deaths recorded in past 24 hours, nine patients in ITU CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Bartolo was explaining a series of COV- ID-19 tax deferral schemes, saying these were only available for companies without pending tax arrears before the COVID-19 outbreak. "The truth is that none of these compa- nies can enjoy aid under the scheme," he said referring to Thake, whose companies Vanilla Telecoms and Maltashopper Ltd owe some €270,000 and €550,000 in VAT arrears respectively. "Under the scheme's guidelines, a com- pany that has a pending tax bill that pre- dates COVID-19 cannot benefit from the scheme. Thake's company has €175,000 from before COVID-19, and another com- pany is 10 years behind on its annual ac- counts," Bartolo told the House. David Thake is sole shareholder in Mal- tashopper and Vanilla Telecoms, both of which have pending VAT bills. Vanilla Telecoms owes some €270,000 in unpaid VAT, which is now part of a repayment plan with VAT authorities. Maltashopper is facing an assessment for over €550,000 in moneys owed to the VAT department, and has had no annual accounts filed with the Malta Business Registry since its incor- poration in 2011. For Vanilla Telecoms, Thake admitted to having €270,440 in tax dues – €233,515 is down to pending VAT while the rest is interest and penalties. From the total amount, €174,790 are immediately due while the rest, he claimed, were deferred as part of COVID measures. Similarly, Thake did not dispute that Maltashopper owes €550,000 in moneys owed to the VAT department, with no annual accounts filed since incorporation in 2011. He said that all of Maltashopper's dues were tax-deferred under the govern- ments COVID-19 scheme. "There are people on the Opposition benches who withheld money from gov- ernment despite being collected from their client," Bartolo asserted in parliament on Monday evening. "Even worse, Thake's trying to use schemes that his companies do not qualify for [to excuse his actions]. All the criticism coming from the Opposi- tion on this case are frivolous." According to the Commissioner for Rev- enue's rules on COVID postponements for tax, companies failing to comply with their tax obligations such as submission of doc- uments returns and payments, are specifi- cally excluded from these postponements. The debate in parliament was triggered after the Nationalist Party filed a parlia- mentary motion for the repeal of a legal notice that cancels out tax arrears against property tax owed. The legal notice allows defaulting taxpay- ers to not pay any tax due on the transfer of property purchased before March 2021, against their arrears. The notice received resounding criticism from the Chamber of Commerce, which said the scheme offered unfair amnesty. The Malta Developers As- sociation also found fault with the scheme, arguing that the government was creating an unlevel playing field. "Aid is there, but it shouldn't be abused, as some in the Opposition are doing," Bar- tolo concluded. Thake has suspended himself from the PN parliamentary group after requesting that the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life investigate any ethics breach resulting from his two business companies being in arrears for VAT. Thake said he would also he would also be resigning from the Opposition's shad- ow cabinet. On Monday Thake blamed cash flow problems for the outstanding VAT pay- ments his telecoms company had accumu- lated. Thake insisted the issue was not one of misappropriation of funds when asked whether the outstanding payments predat- ed March 2020 when the COVID tax de- ferral scheme came into force. "When you are faced with issues of cash flow, and you have employees, you are faced with deci- sions, and this is a situation every self-em- ployed or company director is faced with," Thake said. nmeilak@mediatoday.com.mt 'None of these companies can enjoy aid under the scheme" Clayton Bartolo