Dear Members

2020 has been an unusual and difficult year. The proliferation of COVID-19 across the globe has impacted everyone, everywhere, to varying degrees. From a professional perspective, it has brought about a radical change to the way we work, forcing us to adapt so to serve our clients and to service the needs and interests of our stakeholders.

At the Malta Institute of Taxation, we too have had to modify the way we work. We transitioned to a fully remote operation, holding all courses and CPE events online, as well as all Committee and working group meetings. Notwithstanding the challenges that 2020 has presented, this has been a busy and productive year for the Institute. As in previous years, we successfully contributed on many fronts and initiatives particular in collaboration with the Office of the Commissioner of Revenue and other local institutes. Active contribution by the direct tax, indirect tax and professional affairs committees of the Institute have been vital to the Institute as, despite the impact of COVID-19, the changes required to our tax system so as to enable Malta to meet its commitments at both the European and global level have continued to unfold.

The Institute has been working and continues to work, through the effort of the Committee members who volunteer their time, resources and expertise, supported by the Chief Technical Officer (Sarah Cassar Torregiani) of the Institute. The salient objective of the Institute remains to drive value to our members through the active contribution of the Institute on all technical matters and the provision of support to members in this area, not only through education and training, but also through the publication of materials of the highest quality and of practical relevance.

In fulfilment of this objective, we have in 2020 participated in several consultation processes with the Office of the Commissioner for Revenue, providing input on both draft legislation and official guidance documents. At an international level, MIT representatives have attended and contributed to virtual meetings of the CFE Technical Committees as well as the prestigious EU Commission’s VAT Expert Group.

Our technical committees under the leadership of John Ellul Sullivan (Direct tax) and Chris Borg (Indirect tax) respectively have worked on a number of initiatives this year, documenting discussions and analysis of select tax technical issues into MIT Position Papers and other resources for the Members of the Institute. All the technical output of the Institute may be accessed from MiTAX and the Position Papers & Reports section in the Members Area of our website. We are pleased to announce that early next year we will also be publishing the MIT Guide to Completing a VAT Return for our Members. This detailed document explains each box of the VAT return, with examples, and we hope will be of valuable assistance to practitioners.

Our academic curriculum remains the flagship of the Institute. Our Education Committee has, under the leadership of the chair of the Education Committee (Rachel Zarb Cousin), once again delivered. September saw over 60 students receive their certification for the MIT Course on Taxation (MQF Level 6) and the MIT Course on Tax Compliance (MQF Level 5) for academic year 2019/2020. The courses had to transition overnight to an online format in March in view of the onset of COVD-19, which transition progressed smoothly thanks to the effort of our CEO supported by the administration team, and the co-operation of lecturers and students alike.  In October we kicked off the 2020/2021 academic year, once again welcoming over 60 new students. This year we have again innovated our education program, updating the content to adapt to the ever-changing landscape and we are now offering persons who do not wish to follow the full course the opportunity to attend any individual module/s of their choice. This is also a good opportunity for those who have completed the full course in the past to ‘refresh’ their knowledge, in particular in those areas of most relevance to them or which have undergone significant change over the past few years. A case in point would be the new Module D of the MIT Course on Taxation which is dedicated to EU tax legislation and its transposition locally.

The Institute also offered a number of CPE events in 2020. The Education Committee selected a number of relevant and important topics of interest and invited experts in the field to deliver the training. The topics included ATAD2, Mandatory Disclosure Rules (DAC 6), Preparing for VAT 2021 and Tax considerations of employment. The seminar/webinar schedule for 2021 is being finalised and promises to address topical and important tax issues relevant for practitioners and businesses.

Click here for a more detailed summary of the initiatives undertaken by the Institute in 2020, including the tax resources published, and the key legislative developments.

2020 sees the Institute moving from Attard, the place we have called home for over a decade, to new offices in a serviced, shared office center. Coincidentally, the MIT is moving back to Gzira, a mere 150 meters away from where it was before moving to Attard so many years ago. The way we work has changed, technology enables the Institute to function in a very different manner and the office move signals our response in recognition of this and the changing needs of the Institute.

Unfortunately, 2020 has, following the departure of George Portanier as CEO at the end of 2019, also seen the departure of Cheryl Psaila. Cheryl had been with the Institute for many, many, years. We will miss her support and experience and wish her all the very best in her future endeavours. 

Kindly join me in thanking the staff of the Institute, including Roberta Deguara who joined the team earlier this year, who, under the leadership of our CEO (Fiona Vassallo), have ensured that the MIT remained operational, active and relevant despite the challenges, and all the Council and Committee members without whose time and dedication the Institute would simply not succeed in the fulfilment of its purpose.

On behalf of the MIT Council and the staff of the Institute I would like to take the opportunity to wish you and your families all the best for the Christmas season, and a healthy and prosperous 2021.

Conrad Cassar Torregiani
MIT President

23 December 2020

2020 - A Year in Review

A summary of the initiatives undertaken by the Malta Institute of Taxation in 2020, including the tax resources published, and of the key legislative developments.