Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/866589
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 27 AUGUST 2017 Opinion 24 The business community will be shocked to learn there will be no amnesty on shareholders' loans, after government decided it would not extend its registra- tion scheme ahead of the Euro changeo- ver on company profits which were declared as loans. It is believed thousands of small busi- nesses are now liable to pay millions in taxes to the government on profits which they redirected into shareholders' loans. A spokesperson for the government, who insisted on not being named, said Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is adamant not to give an amnesty for shareholders' loans, just days before the 31 July deadline for individuals to declare any black money ahead of the Euro changeover. "We are aware this could be a winner from an electoral point of view… but it is a loser when considering all those who honestly declared their takings and pay tax on their income," the spokesperson said. The request enjoyed the firm sup- port of the Chamber of SMEs (GRTU), whose affiliated building contractors and developers had asked government for the amnesty on undeclared income to cover their undeclared funds, booked as shareholder loans. These funds are estimated at Lm100 million of reinvested, undeclared in- come. The GRTU is now arguing there should be no difference made between indi- viduals who are hoarding their personal incomes, and a company which redirects its profits back into the company as a loan made by its shareholder. The government spokesperson said the amnesty would have led to massive discrepancies with audit trails and audit- ing of accounts – something government deemed unacceptable. The spokesperson added the original scheme targeted individuals who had undeclared money stacked away, with the aim of linking it to the introduction of the Euro. "We wanted to send the message that undeclared monies should not be siphoned into property. But extending the amnesty on these profits would have resulted in heating up further the prop- erty market." The spokesperson insisted that govern- ment had the backing of Malta's leading audit firms on its stand on refusing an amnesty for shareholders loans. The GRTU's Building Contractors and Developers section president Sandro Chetcuti had even stated back in April to sister newspaper Business Today that he had been informed that "government had accepted that shareholders loans which had previously been undeclared will now be eligible to qualify under the scheme." With an estimated Lm250 million in undeclared cash in hand ahead of Malta's formal adoption of the Euro, government announced a registration scheme, which will end on July 31, to encourage a gradual and orderly surren- der of undeclared money, and facilitate its integration into the formal economy. Registration of Maltese Lira or Euro notes is currently subject to the one- time payment fee of 4% of the registered amount, while registration of Maltese Lira and Euro deposits with local banks will be subject to a 6% fee. Around Lm4 million a month was be- ing exchanged for euros on the streets, with a serious risk of having the market flooded with counterfeit euro notes to the detriment of numerous lifetime sav- ers. The Currency and Banks Deposit Reg- istration Scheme is intended to invite individuals to regularise their position in respect of their holdings of eligible assets in those cases where the associ- ated income has not been declared for the purposes of the Income Tax Act. The scheme does not exempt any person from complying with the re- quirements of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and related regulations. Under the scheme, the owner of the assets is exempted from retrospective action by the government. Applicants have to sign a declaration stating their assets do not represent proceeds from money laundering activi- ties or from any other crime. Government will not extend amnesty to shareholders' loans News – 25 August, 2007 Send your letters to: The Editor, MaltaToday, MediaToday Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 | Fax: (356) 21 385075 E-mail: newsroom@mediatoday.com.mt. Letters to the Editor should be concise. No pen names are accepted. Losing our humanity A long time ago, there was a very special island... inhabited by a friendly people who would go out of their way to help stranded sailors and even their prisoners – so the story goes. Of course, there is another version of history, involving deceptive lights luring ships to their doom so they could be plundered... and despite the fact that our local claim to the story in Acts is historically dubious at best, it remains a noble goal – to be more like the Melita of Acts than the Malta of history. It is vastly more important to decide who we want to be as a country, than to ref lect on those who inhabited these islands before us. A large measure of that exercise involves how we relate to foreigners; to those who are not 'us' but show up among us. Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that I'm referring to illegal/irregular immigrants, such is only one part of the picture. There is a much larger view, encompassing all who were not born here – the EU citizens, and other nationals who live and work here, and who arrived regularly. Malta has a reputation. Not of being anti-foreigner per se, but of having two rulers by which the foreigner is measured separately from the native. This reputa- tion is nowhere more prevalent than in the courts, where the impression is that foreigners are treated more harshly (see Daniel Holmes). Over the last weeks, a number of judgments have done nothing to reduce that impres- sion: A senior Maltese priest, attempted violent indecent as- sault... three months suspended; a Maltese man convicted of fraud... four years' probation; a Romanian begging in Valletta... 10 days' jail; an Italian and a Turk, violently resisting while drunk... six months suspended and over €4,000 fine each; a Saudi-born Italian living with a woman who prostituted herself... six months effective jail term; a Polish girl out of her mind, naked, and hiding in a garbage truck... 10 months suspended. Other than the obvious dis- parity in sentencing severity, these cases have another level connecting them – the lack of a social conscience. Whilst the Maltese young man commit- ting a very serious crime during a prior suspended period was given leniency due to the loss of his brother 20 years ago, no such consideration was given to any of the foreigners. What social good does it do to put a 64-year-old beggar in jail? He'll be fed and housed for 10 days and then released back onto the street. Whilst most comments on his case viciously condemned the 'foreign scum' – and, yes, I am fully aware of the problems of criminal begging groups – the unifying factor was a lack of concern that his could be a simple social case. Did the police investigate to see if the man was just down on his luck, or mentally ok? No. Many things need to change to correct this path. Our courts lack unified sentencing guide- lines – a severe discrepancy which opens up this situation. Cases take years to hear, forc- ing visitors to plead guilty. Our police need better training and investment in things such as mandatory body cameras... and yes, to weed out any bad apples also. But above all, we – as a so- ciety – need to change our atti- tude; to investigate, not assume; to help socially, not prosecute needlessly. YHWH told the Israelites in Leviticus that "The foreigner who resides with you must be to you like a native citizen among you; so you must love him as yourself " (19:34) and "There will be one law for you, whether a foreigner or a native citizen" (24:22). Jesus of course fur- thered that, telling us to "love your neighbour as yourself ". Yes, the world is a complex place, and situations can be complex, but let's not lose our humanity and become callous to those in need among us; instead, let us truly apply the same law equally and with a social conscience. David Pollina Qala A scandalous auction In his lifetime, Jesus adhered to God's prohibition against "graven" images. How would he react if he had to witness the residents of Mgarr bidding up to €14,000 in an auction – with the approval of the par- ish priest – for the dubious "privilege" of carrying a "graven" image of his mother – a typical example of Maltese kitsch? Jesus would respond by denouncing the "graven" image as idolatry, and he would equate the auction-bidders at Mgarr to the money-changers at the Temple. John Guillaumier St Julian's The impression is that in court foreigners are treated more harshly than locals