Insights

A Bill to amend the Income Tax Act has been published in terms of which:

a. A tax exemption will be available on interest received by an individual:

• from a bank on a sum of money deposited into a special individual saving account, and
• from the Government of an EU member state or any agency thereof, from a corporation, or from a company, entity or other legal person (whether or not resident in Malta) on interest-bearing securities credited for the benefit of the individual to a special individual saving account.

The special individual saving account must be recognised as such by the Commissioner for Revenue, and the aggregate amount of deposits into such account and the value of the interest-bearing securities credited into the account must not exceed €1,000 in any year.

An individual can only have ONE special individual account at any time.

b. A tax credit against income tax chargeable in Malta will be available for any contributions made by a person to any personal retirement scheme or premiums paid in respect of a policy of insurance. The tax credit will be equal to the lower of:

• 15% of the aggregate of the contributions or premiums paid; and
• €150.

This tax credit will only be available in respect of qualifying schemes or policies of insurance as may be prescribed by the Commissioner. It is expected that more detailed Regulations will be published in the future to identify the conditions for qualification.