Life in Malta is easy, especially if you have your taxation in order. Malta is a welcoming jurisdiction to expats that seek to relocate for lifestyle or work and provides a welcoming environment that hosts a huge expat community on the Maltese islands. Amongst the many advantages Malta possesses, it also offers excellent tax regimes to individuals relocating here.
Located only a few hours’ flight from major business centres in Europe, Malta is an attractive jurisdiction for digital nomads that are looking for a warm place to set up their activities. In this respect, Malta provides a digital nomad residency scheme for third country nationals who work remotely, using telecoms. Persons who qualify for this scheme are not required to pay local income tax on the income from their remote work as long as such income is not remitted to Malta. Likewise, under this scheme, applicants are not required to file local income tax filings. The digital nomad’s scheme is extendable up to 3 years.
As an international hub for finance and emerging tech such as blockchain, Malta also offers benefits to highly qualified persons who decide to relocate to Malta for work. This scheme covers top-level personnel such as CEOs, CFOs, CTOs, directors, and management level employees of companies licensed with the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) in industries such as, blockchain, fintech, gaming, crypto, or aviation. Applicants for this scheme must, amongst other things, receive a salary of at least €75,000 adjusted annually in line with the Retail Price Index (the minimum income based on the Retail Price Index published by the Malta National Statistics Office must exceed €84,991).
Such highly qualified individuals in fast growing markets such as Malta may apply for the advantageous regime of the highly qualified persons scheme which includes a flat tax rate of 15% up to a maximum income of €5 million. Any excess above the €5 million threshold would be exempt from tax.
The Maltese Government successfully introduced a new residence programme some years ago. This programme offers special tax status to third country nationals (except for EEA and Swiss nationals) in Malta. To apply for this programme, one needs to satisfy certain criteria, including:
Applicants under this programme are subject to an advantageous flat tax rate of 15% applicable only on foreign income remitted to Malta, with a minimum tax of €15,000 per year. The minimum tax threshold covers both the main applicant and dependents included on the same application.
If you are looking for your next business and home destination, Malta is the next best place to be.
The content of this article is valid as at the date of its first publication. It is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter and does not constitute legal advice. We recommend that you seek professional advice on a specific matter before acting on any information provided. For further information, please contact us at MK Fintech Partners via email at info@kyprianou.com or by telephone +356 2016 1010.
