Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/827043
maltatoday, TUESDAY, 23 MAY 2017 4 News PM believes international attack result of Malta's competitive edge PAUL COCKS PRIME Minister Joseph Muscat said he was follow- ing all developments related to the Malta Files exposé in the international press, but said he believes Malta is be- ing "attacked" because of its competitive edge on taxa- tion. Muscat told a press confer- ence he would defend the country's reputation, even that of 'exponents' like for- mer Central Bank governor Francis J. Vassallo, driving the political point that Vas- sallo had affiliated himself with the PN by taking a stance on transparency and governance during a party meeting. "I will defend people like him or the son of former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi, who have been men- tioned in the Malta Files," Muscat said. The Labour leader also said that while he would not speculate about the source of information, he said much of the company information originated from a public reg- ister of companies. "It's not the end of the world as I see it… nobody is saying Malta is breach- ing EU directives or that there is any wrongdoing. We have a competitive edge: what's wrong with that… our reg- ister is more transparent than Germany's or Luxem- bourg's, and we don't give tax rulings like Ireland gave to Apple. Our competitive edge is simi- lar to giving a manufac- turing company land on the cheap to encourage it to set up a factory in our country." Muscat also said that Mal- ta's tax system does not dis- criminate between one com- pany or the other, citing the Commission ruling on the Apple case which was given a zero-tax rate by Ireland. "That's why this is a con- certed attack on Malta's sys- tem, a system that has been there before Malta was an EU member. We can discuss the morality of payday loan companies, but the ques- tion should be whether they should be outlawed across all the EU – otherwise I don't see the difference between registering the company in Malta or elsewhere… should Malta prevent Germans or Italians from setting up shop in Malta? "We are signatories of double taxation and OECD agreements, which means we grant automatic access to tax information to any au- thority in the world." Maltafiles blame lies squarely on Joseph Muscat TIM DIACONO THE blame for the Malta Files reports lies squarely on Joseph Muscat's shoul- ders, with Malta's reputation having suffered greatly as a result of the Prime Minis- ter's inaction on the Pana- ma Papers scandal, opposi- tion leader Simon Busuttil claimed yesterday. "The pressure is being ap- plied by our competitors who are jealous of our taxa- tion system," he said. "We have a right to our own taxa- tion system and we must en- sure we are constantly a step ahead of our competitors." Maltafiles is an initiative by the European Investiga- tive Collaborations involving over a dozen media houses including MaltaToday. The date of publication of Malta- files was planned to coincide with the Maltese presidency and was planned weeks be- forehand. Addressing a press confer- ence at the Lower Hastings Garden, Busuttil vehemently defended Malta's taxation system and insisted it could withstand pressure from Eu- ropean countries in the long- term. He also dismissed criticism against fiduciary services of- fered by financial companies – arguing that such services are fully legal and ethical and haven't been the cause of controversy since they were introduced. The Nationalist Party lead- er said that a PN government would not reappoint Joe Ban- nister as chairperson of the Malta Financial Services Au- thority, just minutes before Muscat revealed at a news conference of his own that Bannister would be volun- tarily stepping down by the end of the year. Busuttil praised Bannis- ter for his long tenure at the helm of the MFSA but said that the time had come to ap- point a new face. "All public members au- Muscat told a press conference he would defend the country's reputation, even that of 'exponents' like former Central Bank governor Francis J. Vassallo (inset)