Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/665749
3 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 13 APRIL 2016 News Civil society to hold anti-corruption march CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 "My priority remains the creation of a new political force which would enable people to think with their minds and not ac- cording to partisan loyalties." Asked whether she would be supporting the PN's mo- tion of no-confidence in the government, Farrugia replied that she would have preferred if the motion was presented to demand the removal of Mizzi. She acknowledged that as formulated the motion repre- sented a "dilemma" for her as it made it made it more dif- ficult for Labour MPs who want Mizzi but are loyal to Muscat to leave to express themselves "I had no say in formulat- ing the motion and was sim- ply informed about it by the leader of the opposition." But Farrugia is still consid- ering her vote with regards to the motion noting that new revelations related to the Panama leaks are constantly coming out. A new protest calling for the resignation of energy minister Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Keith Schembri, will take place in May, this time led by a civil society activists organised by Michael Brigug- lio. The former Alternattiva Demokratika chairperson said the protest will be called by the 'Civil Society Net- work ', which had launched an appeal on Facebook call- ing for signatures asking for the resignation of Mizzi and Schembri when news first broke of Mizzi 's and Schem- bri 's offshore interests in Panama. The protest is being con- vened as a "non-partisan civil society protest" for Saturday, 7 May, at 10am in front of parliament. Minister urges MFSA to investigate PN's Cedoli loan scheme TIM DIACONO EDUCATION minister Evarist Bartolo has called on the Malta Financial Services Authority to investigate the PN's Cedoli scheme and hit out at the au- thority's head Joe Bannister for his interests in a company in the Cayman Islands, a notorious tax haven. Speaking in Parliament yes- terday evening, Bartolo accused the PN of hypocrisy for criti- cising the government over its handling of the Panama Papers scandal, while at the same time introducing a scheme that al- lows for loans of €10,000 that the party will repay over the next 10 years at an interest rate of 4%. He questioned whether the Cedoli is in accordance to Mal- ta's financial services law, not- ing that the scheme is glaringly short of information. "All it shows potential inves- tors is a three page document that includes a front and back cover and a message from the Opposition leader," he said. "That's all it is – there are no details on where investors will deposit their money and what will become of it, and that there are no loan limits. "The law requires serious pro- spectuses for entities requesting loans, including their balance sheets, and details of their as- sets and liabilities. Where is the MFSA here? What will the risks be if the PN finds itself unable to pay back the loans? The last I heard, the party has at least €22 million in debt. "The PN has resorted to an an- tiquated loan scheme of money being exchanged by hand. Can you imagine what a storm they would have kicked up if Labour had introduced this scheme? Of course, they see us as inferior gods though…" Bartolo reiterated his pre-elec- toral criticism of Bannister, over his directorship of Kairos Fund – a Cayman Islands company. He added that Bannister had deposited money in SR Global Fund Inc, a Cayman Islands hedge fund set up by Sloane Robinson, who he noted had to recently refund £2 million after being found guilty of tax eva- sion. "This is nothing but hypocrisy and double standards," he said. He said that the law must be updated to forbid Maltese peo- ple from opening companies and bank accounts in countries with whom it doesn't have an auto- matic exchange of information – such as the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, and the US state of Delaware. "Is it any wonder that far left and far right parties are popping up over Europe? Us mainstream politicians have allowed our- selves to lose the public trust. Even [UK Prime Minister] Da- vid Cameron is trying to launch a crusade against tax evasion, but it then turned out that he had interests in a company in Panama." The education minister – who earlier said that he would have resigned in Konrad Mizzi 's posi- tion – accused the PN of blow- ing the Panama Papers story out of proportion. "We should criticise where criticism is due, but pretending that this is a national catastro- phe and acting as though the end of the world has come is a sign of tribalism and partisan- ism that I hoped the country had got rid of." Tax haven fallout should not affect Malta, governor says MIRIAM DALLI MALTA is no tax haven, because the country provides complete transparency in exchange of infor- mation, Central Bank governor Jo- sef Bonnici, has told MaltaToday. But moves from the European Commission towards greater tax harmonization will influence the way Mal- ta structures its finan- cial services industry, if it wants to retain its competitive edge, Bonnici said. The EC now appears strong-armed to intro- duce stronger laws against base erosion and profit shift- ing (BEPS) to low-tax jurisdictions that allow companies to reduce their tax exposure. But Bonnici told MaltaToday he does not envisage a direct attack on Malta's tax imputation system, which allows foreign shareholders to claim refunds of up to 85% of tax paid on dividends. "There is a trend to move towards greater harmonisation and not all countries are in the same position. Malta, like Ireland, is on the periph- ery and our particular tax struc- tures reflect certain economic re- alities of where a country is located," Bonnici said. He warned that there will be greater emphasis on reduc- ing offshore centres, but insisted that Malta was not one of these coun- ties. "Malta provides complete transpar- ency in exchange of information and I don't think it will be a significant factor. The greater move, however, needs to be reflected in the way we struc- ture our financial services if we are to remain competitive." The island, for example, could di- versify into having other products related to the insurance sector. "At the end what makes Malta competi- tive is the services it provides. An ef- ficient tax system is important, but it's not the only aspect." The Opposition has criticised the government over the revelations from Panama Papers and the fall- out it would have on Malta's reputa- tion: energy minister Konrad Mizzi was the only EU minister to have been found to own an offshore com- pany in Panama set up by law firm Mossack Fonseca. The Central Bank governor re- fused to comment on the political controversy: as a norm, the institu- tion shies away from political is- sues. He reiterated that the leak had fuelled attention on tax systems and could bring about certain changes Malta would have to consider. "We are already very conscious of our responsibilities and have a tax system that is acceptable to the rest of the world," he says. Explaining that offshore tax ha- vens hide behind veils of secrecy providing a very opaque system, any changes to this affect will not influ- ence Malta as it already employs full transparency. "This greater attempt against tax havens should not affect us." The education minister said that MFSA chairman Joe Bannister (above) deposited money in a Cayman Islands hedge fund