09/01/20

MALTA: Updates for Automatic Exchange of Information.

As published on tax-news.com, Wednesday January 8, 2020.

Malta's Commissioner for Revenue on January 2, 2020, issued a single set of guidelines on the automatic exchange of financial account information.

According to the Commissioner, the guidelines incorporate further clarifications and salient changes, including:

• A clarification on entity classification pertaining to cell companies, in line with the previous determinations issued by the Commissioner for Revenue;
• 
  Clarification that Holding and Treasury Companies of financial institutions (FIs) that do not fall within the definition of a financial institution are no longer deemed as FIs for the purposes of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA);
• 
  Clarification on Distributed Ledger Technology assets, to align the guidance with the guidelines issued by the Commissioner on this matter for tax purposes;
• 
  More complete notes on registration and modifications of domestic registrations and the introduction of guidance on the cancellation of domestic registration and Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN);
• 
  Clarifications on reporting obligations pertaining to structures with underlying structures that do not have a separate legal personality;
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  The definition of passive income has been aligned in its entirety with the Income Tax Act to ensure more certainty;
• 
  Current citizenship by investment/ residence by investment guidelines will be extended to FATCA;
  To note changes to deadlines limited to the "excel spreadsheet" submissions;
• 
  The release of detailed guidelines on the completion of data elements; and
• 
  Updated information on recalcitrant accounts/ undocumented accounts.