马耳他将全球最低企业税规定推迟两年实行

来源：Todd Buell

编译：思迈特财税国际税收服务团队

目前，有137个国家陆续加入到全球最低企业税的行列中，全球最低企业税率的形成对营造良好的国际贸易新环境、维护国际税收秩序以及重塑税收管辖权规则等都具有重要的历史和现实意义。然而对于马耳他这样的避税天堂，其法定企业税率为35%，但实际上可低至5%，在传统税制下依靠税率优惠吸引跨国资本投资，但全球最低企业税率15%的规定抹杀了马耳他的优势。因此，根据马耳他时报报道，该国正在与外国投资者进行谈判，以了解在税制改变后如何留住他们。该新闻网站称，政府正在考虑降低其他税收或提供新的财政激励措施，以降低经营成本。基于此，马耳他表示将全球最低税的引入至少推迟两年，以便该国有时间改变其制度，其财政部长暗示了国内的阻力，并补充说：“我必须对我的人民负责。”

马耳他尽管不反对全球最低企业税的规定，但对于这项规定的实施时间提出了反对，匈牙利、波兰和爱沙尼亚等其他国家的官员也表达了强烈反对意见，包括在某些情况下认为202年的实施日期为时过早。爱沙尼亚财政部高级官员海伦·帕哈皮尔周一告诉Law360：“我们一直指出，我们不可能从2023年开始执行该指令。”，并且补充说到她的国家“最早”要到2024年才能实施这项法律。华盛顿特区智库税务基金会的税务政策分析师丹尼尔·邦恩（Daniel Bunn）告诉 Law360：虽然全球最低企业税的规定投入了大量的技术工作，但这项规定的实施速度感觉就像他们在制造飞机的同时试图驾驶它。不仅上述国家对这项规定的实施速度提出了质疑，外部观察人士也质疑实施速度。

了解详情，请查阅以下NEWS

NEWS：Malta Seeks Two-Year Delay Of Minimum Tax

Source：By Todd Buell · Feb 7, 2022, 11:24 AM EST ·        Author：Roy LeBlanc. 

    Malta is seeking to delay the introduction of a global minimum tax by at least two years to allow the country time to change its system, a local media report said Monday, adding that other countries also want a delay.

    The country is holding talks with foreign investors to see how it can keep them after the tax regime is changed, according to the Times of Malta. The news site said the government is considering lowering other taxes or offering new financial incentives to keep down the cost of doing business.

    Malta has a 35% statutory corporate tax rate, but in effective terms it can be as low as 5%, well below the 15% minimum rate agreed to by nearly 140 jurisdictions in October after negotiations led by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, put forward a draft law on the measure in December that would come into force next year if approved by all member states.

    Though Malta agreed to the text, the newspaper said the country is still trying to negotiate carveouts at the EU level.

    When EU finance ministers discussed the measure publicly last month, Malta's representative expressed reservations about the bill, saying "serious issues" remained concerning "fairness and practicality" in implementation. While saying it was too early to withdraw support, the finance minister hinted at domestic pushback, adding, "I have to answer to my people."

    Officials from other countries, such as Hungary, Poland and Estonia, also aired serious objections, including in some cases that the 2023 implementation date is too soon.

    "We keep pointing it out that we could not possibly implement the directive from 2023," Helen Pahapill, a senior official in Estonia's finance ministry, told Law360 on Monday. Her country won't be able to implement the law until 2024 at "the earliest," she said.

    Officials from Hungary and Poland didn't respond to requests for comment.

    Outside observers also have questioned the speed of implementation.

    "There's certainly been a lot of technical work put in, but it still feels like they're building the plane while trying to fly it," Daniel Bunn, a tax policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C., think tank, told Law360. 

    The Maltese finance ministry didn't have an immediate response to a request for comment.

    For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.