The Opposition’s attempts to discredit the Maltese government on an international level led Sweden to consider striking off Malta-based Swedish owned companies from its tax white list, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said.
Nationalist MP Claudio Grech asked the minister to explain why he thought Sweden was taking such action.
The minister replied: The Opposition “knows very well why”.
A “fake news campaign”, he said, was being waged by the Opposition in Brussels in an attempt to discredit the Maltese government on an international level.
In March, it was reported that the Swedish government had taken notice of Swedes owning companies incorporated in Malta, and that the Swedish Finance Minister was proposing to strike Malta-based companies from the country’s “Controlled Foreign Corporation” taxation white list.
Prof. Scicluna said that it was undeniable that Malta had drawn a large number of “hugely successful” Swedish companies, especially in the iGaming industry, which were setting up shop to benefit from Malta’s competitive tax rates.