PN fully supports government position against tax harmonisation, embracing financial technology – Delia

Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia expressed his party’s support for the government position against tax harmonisation at an EU level and the embracing of financial technology, blockchain, crypto-currency and robotics.

He was speaking at the Institute of Financial Services’ conference on upcoming regulatory changes within the industry.

Delia praised previous Nationalist Party governments for fostering the financial services industry that we know today. He acknowledged the test faced by the industry recently due to a number of international revelations such as the Panama Papers and the Paradise Papers.

“While Malta’s financial services sector emerged from the financial crises relatively unscathed, the tighter rules imposed as a result of this continue to impact us.”

Delia said that safeguarding Malta’s reputation as financial services jurisdiction is of “paramount importance.”

“If we are to continue attracting interest and investment for our financial services sector, we must maintain the highest international standards. Losing trust will have a negative impact on our economy.”

He acknowledged how the industry creates a lot of ancillary work, making it all the more important to maintain the highest standards.

“Regional stability and the deterrence of financial crime is essential,” he told the audience of stakeholders within the industry.

He stressed that the major challenge is political more than anything else, stating that the PN’s position is in line with government’s – refuting tax harmonisation at an EU level. Delia was referring to political pressure at an EU level for the 27member bloc to implement supranational tax harmonisation policies and have companies pay tax on profits where their major operations are – a move that would take away a sizeable portion of government revenue.

“Such practices would have a detrimental effect on the Maltese economy,” he said, adding that disadvantages the country faces due to its geographical position and small population size would become more pronounced through such measures.

“The rapid emergence of Fintech, blockchain, cryptocurrency and robotics in the area of financial services needs to first be understood and channelled correctly thereafter.

“To benefit from the developments of financial technology, we must be at the forefront and ensure our country embraces them rapidly. We need a proper regulatory framework in place, skilled financial practitioners, which is not so easy today, and a nimble framework.”

He called for ensuring that Malta’s workforce is trained to be flexible when faced with a rapidly changing industry.