BoV and MBB to commission study on EU Energy Tax Directive

A Bank of Valletta - Malta Business Bureau Economic Impact Assessment study on the European Commission’s proposed Energy Tax Directive is in the pipeline, according to BoV chief executive Tonio Depasquale and MBB president John Huber.

Last month the European Commission proposed to overhaul energy taxation rules with the aim of restructuring the way energy products are taxed and to remove current imbalances and take into account both their CO2 emissions and energy content.

Mr Depasquale and Mr Huber told The Times Business: “The European Commission recently published a communication proposing the revision of the Energy Tax Directive. We are conducting an internal discussion as to how business should be better informed and alerted about the implications of the several, very often radical changes, as contained in the Commission’s draft proposal. Thus, the second BoV-MBB Economic Impact Assessment study may be soon underway.”

An agreement between the Malta Business Bureau and Bank of Valletta to pave the way for the commissioning of a number of high profile economic impact assessments was signed by the two organisations last Friday.

The first joint Economic Impact Assessment will focus on the effects that the proposed Common Corporate Consolidated Tax Base Directive will have on local businesses, particularly foreign firms operating in Malta.

“This topic was selected for study since the Maltese business community has expressed its reservations on the CCCTB proposal as it currently stands. The government has already expressed its opposition to the concept but we feel that it is in our duty to quantify the impact of the proposed directive,” Mr Depasquale said.

The impact assessments will be carried out by one of the firms that submitted an expression of interest after a public call. A selection committee has been formed and all applications are being reviewed. The economic impact assessments are being jointly funded by the Malta Business Bureau and Bank of Valletta.

Mr Huber said that once completed the Economic Impact Assessments will be presented to the Maltese government, international business organisations and to the European institutions. The reports will be published and be made available to the media and all other interested parties. The MBB and BoV will simultaneously conduct a campaign to explain the results to various stakeholders in the Maltese private sector.

Mr Depasquale said such economic impact studies provide policy makers with a realistic picture of the effects that certain proposals and decisions can have on the local economy.

“We are confident that the findings of these assessments will assist the government and the EU policy makers in adapting the policies and directives to suit the conditions of our country. We believe that through the commissioning of such studies, we will be safeguarding Maltese business interests by drawing the attention of both EU and national public authorities to certain decisions that may hinder the competitiveness of particular sectors,” he said.

Mr Huber said that in Europe there are various ways how to influence policy.

“We believe that the best practice would be that of first alerting the Maltese government, which has a specific interest in protecting the national economy, which could then use its capacity at a European level to safeguard the interests of Maltese businesses.

“Secondly, we will make the results known to our partners in international organisations. This will contribute in shaping the positions of organisations such as BusinessEurope, Eurochambres and HOTREC vis-a-vis the Commission’s proposals. Finally, the EIA results can influence other member states’ positions whereby their situation is similar to Malta,” he said.