The Prime Minister of Malta, in a press conference held yesterday morning together with Finance Minister Scicluna and Economy Minister Schembri, announced a package of tax and economic measures in order to address the impact COVID-19 might leave on the Maltese economy.
Like other Member States, Malta’s initiative is in line with the European Commission’s recommendations, which were reflected in a press statement made by EU Competition Commissioner Vestager on Friday 13 March. The European Union usually has strict rules restricting state aid. State aid can take the form of cash grants, or preferential tax treatment from government to a particular business or industry.
Working within EU state aid rules, Member States can now adopt measures such as wage subsidies, suspensions to corporate and value added taxes of social contributions, or grant financial support directly to consumers, for instance consumers affected by cancelled services, where these are not reimbursed by the operators concerned. The Commission is also preparing a special legal framework under EU treaty rules, in order to allow EU member states to, if necessary, adopt additional national support measures to remedy a serious disturbance to the state’s economy.
Read the full article here.
