New Malta Institute of Taxation council

Dr Antoine Fiott was appointed president of the Malta Institute of Taxation (MIT) at its 11th annual general meeting. In his last address to members, former president Edwin Vella, who withdrew from the presidency after guiding the institute for the past 11 years, said:

"The next milestone for our institute is a Masters Degree in Taxation in collaboration with the University of Malta. This course will be open to both local and international students. Work to establish this course is already well in hand and the institute will be publishing further news in the near future."

During his long period in office, Mr Vella oversaw the setting up of the institute as well as its many milestones. The greatest achievement was the organisation of a diploma course in taxation, which was a first for Malta. Last month, Mr Vella presided over the first graduation ceremony.

Mr Vella also mentioned the work done by the institute for the drafting of a Taxpayer's Charter that was presented to the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance for possible inclusion in the local taxation infrastructure.

He noted with regret that positive action from the government side on this issue is yet to materialise but hoped that soon the local taxpayer may be able to enjoy the basic rights that taxpayers in other jurisdictions have been enjoying for years.

The new members elected for 2006/2007 Council are Dr Renald Micallef as vice-president, George Farrugia as secretary, Geraldine Schembri as treasurer, Jonathan Abela as assistant secretary and Dr Conrad Cassar Torregiani and Mr James Farrugia as members.

The meeting was concluded with the presentation of a gift to Mr Vella in recognition of his invaluable contribution to the institute and to the profession of tax practitioners in general.

For further information contact the institute on mit@maintax.org.