NEWS | Wednesday, 05 December 2007

Taxpayers’ rights ‘still a dream’ - MIT

The Malta Institute of Taxation (MIT) has succeeded in putting the introduction of a Taxpayer’s Charter for Europe on the agenda of the Confederation Fiscal Europeenne (CFE). The Charter will list the rights of the taxpayer when dealing with local tax administrators in respective EU countries. This was announced by the outgoing President of the Malta Institute of Taxation, Dr Antoine Fiott, during MIT’s 11th Annual General Meeting earlier this month.
“Once such a charter is finalised, it is the intention of the CFE to propose that it becomes compulsory throughout all EU countries. Our Institute is also an active participant in the Action Committee set up for the drafting of the charter itself,” said Dr Fiott. He mentioned that, earlier on, the proposed Charter was presented to the local authorities but that two years on, in spite of all the submissions and several meetings, no progress has been made on this issue.
In his address Dr Fiott also announced that the Institute will be publishing a Taxation Manual. Due to be published in 2008 and authored by some of the leading tax experts in Malta, the manual will be very useful to tax practitioners as well as the judiciary who are now frequently being asked to judge complicated tax issues. It will deal with direct taxation and will be available in both hard and soft copy format on the Institute’s web site.
While highlighting the achievements of the Institute during the last year and other objectives for the coming twelve months, Dr Fiott said: “The Diploma Course in Taxation, now in its third year, was a complete success, and this course will soon be complemented by a Masters Course. The latter is still at the planning stage but will enhance the professional background of all tax practitioners when this project is up and running”.
On behalf of the Institute’s Secretary, the Vice-President Dr Renald Micallef gave a detailed summary of the past year’s activities. Amongst the most notable was the successful conclusion of the 2nd Higher Diploma Course in Taxation and three very well-attended seminars. He also expressed satisfaction about the ever increasing interest of tax practitioners in the Institute and noted that over the past twelve months, membership had almost doubled to 242 members.
The Institute’s Treasurer, Mrs Geraldine Schembri, presented the audited financial statements for the year ended 31st December, 2006 and highlighted matters of interest to the members. The Institute is investing substantially both in man hours as well as in funds in the two main objectives for the forthcoming year, and each and every member on the newly elected committee will be contributing towards achieving the Institute’s goals.
During this meeting the following members were elected to the Institute’s Council: President, Dr Renald Micallef; Vice President, Mr James Farrugia; Secretary, Mr George Farrugia; Treasurer, Mrs Geraldine Schembri; Assistant Secretary, Mr Christian Vella; Members: Mr Jonathan Abela, Dr Damien Fiott, Mr Nikki Dimech, Mr Edwin Vella, Dr Conrad Cassar Torregiani.
The Institute can be contacted on [email protected] or telephone number 21314653 or website www.maintax.org.